A Sonic the Hedgehog Story 2: The Junior Chronicles
by CheddarBrat789
Summary: (DISCONTINUED) Set 15 years after the last story, a mysterious new threat surfaces, conquering the various continents with the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Follow the journey of Sonic the Hedgehog Jr. and a new generation of heroes as they set out to save Mobius and reclaim the emeralds, all the while proving to the world that they can continue their parents' legacies. (c) 2017
1. Chapter 1: An Evening of Honor

Prologue:

 _The following story takes place fifteen years after the events of "A Sonic the Hedgehog Story". Sonic Jr. is now as old as his famous father was when he first entered the hero business, and has inherited all of his abilities. The two other major couples of the house produced some offspring of their own, who are very close in age to Junior. Life on Mobius has been completely peaceful ever since Dr. Eggman's demise, aside from the occasional minor disturbances. However, that doesn't mean someone ELSE can't start to pose a threat, right?_

Chapter 1: An Evening Of Honor:

It was past dusk - the opportune time for a pair of common thugs to infiltrate the Sonic The Hedgehog Museum in order to carry out their mission. Both thugs were at a decent height, and quite thin and lanky, but a heavy build wasn't required for their objective. Tiptoeing and constantly stopping at corners, the two men crept their way throughout the interior of the closed museum until they made their way to its main exhibit (or one of them at least). This exhibit was simply a sapphire the size of a cantaloupe, sculpted into the shape of Sonic's head, with a pair of small, ovular emeralds in the place of his eyes. It was resting on a pillow inside a glass box on a wooden pedestal enclosed within a set of velvet ropes. With mischievous grins on their faces, the two men carefully removed the artifact and slipped it into a burlap sack.

"Alright, now that _that's_ taken care of, how do we get out of here?" One whispered.

"Don't look at _me_! I'm not the one who forgot the fucking schematics back at the base!" The other whispered back, "I swear, if we get caught and are denied that sum of money the boss promised us, I'm pinning the blame on _you_!"

Both robbers said no more as they crept around, looking for a route to the exit as best as they could despite the almost pitch-dark interior and their lack of a light source. Meanwhile, in an area not far from where the two men were walking, a faint clank could be heard as a vent cover was knocked off its bolts. A being crawled out of the vent, quietly placing its cover back against the opening, and zipping towards the nearest corner at the speed of sound. A cocky smirk appeared on his face at the sight of the burglars.

"Did you hear that?" One robber asked.

"Hear _what_?" The other guy replied, "Stop trying to scare yourself and try to find the exit."

As the two men continued their search, the being continued to silently pursue them, searching for opportunities to take them out and foil their plan. His first chance came when one burglar stopped to stare at a painting that consisted of all scrapped designs for Sonic.

"Whoa... !" He said in awe.

"Will you quit your damn fooling around and _help_ me?!" The other robber barked back, continuing to walk without looking behind him.

"Okay, okay, I'm comi- OOF!" The man grunted as a large, blue projectile rammed into him from behind.

He was sent flipping upwards through the air for a bit before the same ball hit him in the stomach (causing him to cough up some blood) and knock him out cold onto the marble floor. The being quickly darted out of sight by climbing up a nearby column in a squirrel-like manner.

"Huh?!" The remaining robber barked as he hurried back to check on his unconscious partner, "Oh shit! What the hell _happened_?! ...Nevermind. I'll just get out of here. Every man for himself."

"That's what _you_ think." The being muttered arrogantly, quietly enough that nobody heard him.

After a good half hour or so, the robber finally found the glass front doors.

"Phew! Alright, now to get this bad boy to the... !" He started, cutting himself off as he felt a drop of red liquid drip onto his shoulder.

He wiped it off with a single finger, noticing some odd chunks inside the liquid, before quickly wiping it against the burlap sack in disgust.

"Yecch! Just what was _that_ all about?!" He asked, before a much larger drop landed right in front of him, making an audible splat as it collided with the marble.

Now growing nervous, the man looked up above him and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of what appeared to be an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog hanging from the top of a column, giving him a sadistic grin that showed all of his teeth as his mouth was lined with the same red liquid. He managed to let out a yelp before a blue blur slammed into his head and knocked him out. The being who had stopped the robbers turned out to be none other than Sonic himself, and the red liquid was nothing more than the sauce from a half-eaten chili-dog in his hand, which he finished in one bite.

"Ah well! Maybe next time!" Sonic taunted as he caught the sack containing the jewel in his free hand without looking.

Soon enough, the artifact was placed back in its rightful spot, and just as Sonic was exiting the building, he felt an odd vibration. He took out his own personal Miles Electric and tapped the screen. It turned out to be a call from Tails.

"Sonic! Where have you been?! We've got somewhere to be tonight, remember?!" Tails asked impatiently.

"Oh, crap, that's right! I'm on my way now!" Sonic replied, hanging up afterwards.

Later that night, the entire household from the previous story was gathered around in an assembly-room within G.U.N. headquarters, all clad in their most formal attire. A spokesperson was delivering a speech on stage in front of the vast audience that mostly consisted of G.U.N. agents and soldiers.

"... And so, in light of the sudden, recent, and utterly tragic death of Commander Towers, we have agreed to pass his position on to our most competent elite agent." Hefinished, "And that agent would be none other than Shadow the Hedgehog."

The crowd proceeded to graciously applaud the commemoration as Shadow stepped onto the stage, standing there proudly as the spokesman placed the badges formerly worn by the late commander onto his chest. He took a deep breath at the thought of his newfound responsibility, and smiled genuinely as he waved towards the audience.

"Words cannot describe how honored I am to achieve this position." Shadow said as he took the spokesman's place at the podium, "In the past, I formerly stated that I had joined G.U.N. for the sole purpose of improving my image in society, but as the years have worn on, that has all changed. And only _after_ his passing did I discover my _real_ reason for taking up this job - to make him proud. Commander? If you're looking down on us right now, you don't need to worry. I've got this military under as much control as _you_ had it, and I promise to _never_ let you down in the future!"

Once Shadow's acceptance speech was completed, everyone applauded once more.


	2. Chapter 2: First Signs of Trouble

Chapter 2: First Signs Of Trouble:

"Alright, kids! We're home!" Amy yelled as she and rest of the adults reentered the house.

"I _still_ don't get why you wouldn't let us come with you guys!" A being groaned in reply, his voice sounding strikingly similar to Sonic's.

The being behind the voice sped into the entryway faster the speed of sound, revealing himself to be a hedgehog who looked nearly identical to Sonic, though with a streak of pink along each quill, and a different pair of shoes (these ones being deep orange and lime-green in a hounds-tooth pattern). He was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog Jr., having aged and matured greatly since the previous story, to the point that he had a similar personality to his father, and was only a head shorter.

"Maybe when you're a little older!" Sonic replied, locking the door once everyone had stepped in, "But more _importantly_ , did you guys behave yourselves?"

" _Really_ , Dad. I'm 15 years old." Junior groaned again.

"I _said_ , did you guys behave yourselves?" Sonic asked again.

"Yeah. We just ordered pizza, hung out, and played some 'Sonic Free Riders'... or at least _tried_ to." Junior replied, following a sigh.

Meanwhile, standing in the living room in front of the sofa (and trying their best to play the horrendously bad racing game), were the other two offspring of the household. One was a bat-hedgehog hybrid, who looked mostly like Rouge, though she stood a head shorter, had red eyes, and had a vertical row of three quills going from the top of her head down the back, each one lined with a red stripe (much like Shadow). She was wearing crimson red eye-shadow, a pair of tight, black, leather mini-shorts, and a sleeveless crop-top with a silver zipper down the front that matched her eye-shadow, alongside some hot-pink go-go boots.

"Jade? You doing alright?" Rouge asked as she peeked into the living room.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jade replied, "How was the ceremony?"

"Quite frankly, the _only_ reason I enjoyed it was because the guy who got elected was my own _husband_." Rouge replied bitterly, "And the _hors d'oeuvres_ weren't worth the trouble _either_. Just the same old shit that gets dished out in the G.U.N. cafeteria seven days a week."

The other being in the room went by the name of "Tyco". He was a hedgehog-cat hybrid with very pale lavender fur, who had arguably the most balance in terms of resemblance to both parents. He stood a head shorter than Silver, and had the same two quills on the back of his head, as well as the same mane around his neck and the same black accents around his golden eyes. However, he had plenty of loose locks of fur on top of his head, which were done up like those on Blaze. He was clad in gloves and gauntlets similar to those that his father wore (though the ones on his right hand were glowing orange instead of blue), as well as a pair of cranberry-colored boots with butter-yellow accents and anklets similar to the ones that Silver wore.

"Well I guess _now_ I don't feel upset about not going to the event anymore." Tyco replied in a neutral tone.

Just outside the door to his right, Silver and Blaze were sneaking up from behind, hoping to jump into the living room and take their son by surprise.

"Mom, I _know_ you're coming." Tyco said, "You too, Dad."

A couple of groans could be heard from the hallway.

"Alright, I think we'd better start shutting things down." Silver said after stepping into the room, "It's getting pretty late."

With that, everyone residing in the mansion proceeded to clean up any messes they had made, and get ready for bed. However, before Sonic could retire to his own bedroom, Knuckles came up behind him, a look on concern on his face.

"Uh, Sonic? Do ya' mind coming to my room for a bit? It's... kinda' important." He said.

"No problem, Knux." Sonic replied, following him.

The two friends walked past the bedroom where all three offspring were bunking together (formerly a guest room), and failed to notice Junior peeking out through the cracked door. Once they entered Tails' and Knuckles' room, they shut the door behind them. Knuckles didn't hesitate to pull out the Master Emerald and set it on the floor.

"Alright, I'm here. Is there a problem?" Sonic asked.

"Indeed." Tails replied, "You by any chance remember the last time you fought Eggman?"

"How the hell could I _forget_?" Sonic asked in reply.

"Yeah, well it turns out that after their power was stoled form him, the Chaos Emeralds were sent flying all the way back down to our planet." Knuckles said.

As his friend spoke, Sonic's mind briefly replayed a flashback of his fight against Hyper Eggman up in space, just barely remembering the sight of the emeralds getting forcefully knocked out of the doctor, before hurtling down towards Mobius at blinding speeds.

"... And as you already know, the Master Emerald can detect the locations of all seven Chaos Emeralds. Thankfully, they all managed to land back on Mobius, but they're scattered all over the world, and not one of them is here in the United Federation... _which_ as we all know includes Station Square, Mystic Ruins, and Central City." Knuckles continued, before he placed both hands on the emerald, causing it to glow more brightly, "Here, I managed to pinpoint their locations."

Without a word, Sonic and Tails both stepped over to the Master Emerald to watch the footage that Knuckles had pulled up. A digital map of the entire planet was on the screen, with all the shapes and text shown in neon-red against a scarlet background, and seven glowing, pink markers scattered all over it to signify the individual Chaos Emeralds. One of the markers was selected, causing photographs that took place in the urban and natural regions of Spagonia to pop up.

"The first Chaos Emerald landed somewhere in Spagonia - home of good food, friendly locals, great architecture and scenery, pretty women, the _works_ , really!" Knuckles said, "It's currently identifying as a monarchy, but it was a democracy not too long ago."

"Weird." Tails noted.

"Next up, there's Chun-Nan - once again, known for its cuisine, but also for its many sets of ruins and a rather unique history. There also a legend of a majestic bird that shows up on a certain night every year." Knuckles continued, after clicking on a different area of the map, "It was an empire not too long ago, but it's suddenly become an oligarchy."

"Well, three heads are better than _one_ , as they say." Sonic replied.

"... Right. Now _here_ , we have Holoska - they say it's like a _meat locker_ down there. Still pretty, though." Knuckles said, "Now Holoska never truly established itself under any form of government, aside from having a chief for every village, but it seems that someone's recently converted it to an anarchy."

" _That_ doesn't sound good." Sonic and Tails replied in unison.

"I know. Without rules, comes chaos." Knuckles replied, "Next, we've got Empire City - the biggest source of worldwide pollution, and by far the highest population of all the countries. It's known for its wide variety of cultural influences, and... oh, _this_ is odd! Unlike the others we've seen so far, the government is still a democracy, but reports are saying that most of the population isn't too fond of the new president."

"Kinda' reminds me of the president _we_ had to put up with for a while." Sonic replied, "Y'know, during the time when everyone was still unsure what side Shadow was on?"

"Yeah, don't remind me." Tails replied.

"Moving on, another emerald fell into the sunbaked sands of Shamar. Though it gets a lot of rain, the water is still so scarce that the population instead chooses to filter it directly from the ocean. Oh, and the society there is mostly Islamic, so be sure to hide your quills." Knuckles continued, "It identified as a republic for decades, but currently, it's an empire."

"Really? I didn't have to hide 'em the _last_ time I was there!" Sonic said, obviously baffled as he stroked his hair briefly.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how much can change in a few years!" Tails replied.

"Now _here's_ a country I _don't_ recognize - Soleanna." Knuckles said, "Apparently we all went there some years ago, but nobody seems to remember it."

"Wait! What the fuck?! Soleanna?! As in the setting of 'Sonic 06'?" Sonic asked, bewildered, "B-But that game never _happened_! ...Aside from the ending cutscene, that is!"

"Well no, not in terms of the things we _did_ in that game. But as a game, it still technically exists, seeing how we have a physical copy of it on our shelf!" Knuckles replied, "Look, just because we never went to Soleanna doesn't mean it's nonexistent! Anyways, it used to be constitutional monarchy, but became an aristocracy in 2006. And very recently, it switched to a republic."

Neither Sonic nor Tails said a word as Knuckles tapped on another icon.

"Alright, _finally_ , that leaves us with the small country of Genesis - or 'The Genesis Isles' if you prefer. Consists of South Island, West Side Island, Angel Island, Flicky Island, and Christmas Island." Knuckles explained, "The signal on _this_ emerald isn't as strong, so it may be a bit harder to find. As far as the islands themselves go, they've always been under the same government, but recently, it went from a democracy to a tyrannical dictatorship, and the economy has gone completely communist."

"Christmas... Island?" Sonic asked hesitantly, though he spoke quietly enough that nobody heard him.

"So, yeah. With all that being said, I personally believe that the Chaos Emeralds all arriving in different countries, and the governments around the world suddenly changing are somehow related." Tails commented.

"So what you're saying is..." Sonic started, "You want us to travel the world and collect all the emeralds before they fall into the wrong hands?"

"Well, I'm afraid it's too late for the _latter_." Knuckles replied, "See, the Master Emerald can _also_ tell whenever each Chaos Emerald is in someone's possession, as well as what it's being used for. It can't identify who exactly is using them, but the fact that the emeralds were all seized _right_ before the countries changed their system of government is enough to make me worried."

"Hmmm..." Tails pondered as he fiddled around with his Miles Electric, "So I've just looked up the sources of these odd changes, and the Chaos Emeralds have indeed been captured. However, something's a little off - the politicians who have changed the governments of the various countries are all identifying themselves as 'Eggman'."

"You're not serious, Tails." Sonic replied in shock.

"Sadly, I am." Tails replied, "My guess is that all these guys rose to power and decided to take up his mantle."

"Good guess, but maybe these guys really _are_ Eggman!" Knuckles replied, "I remember I was out on a walk in nature over a decade ago. I passed by some 50s diner, and _countless_ waitresses walked out the back, talking about how they had all fucked some bald guy with a round body, and a mustache that looked and smelled like overgrown pubes. I know it may seem a bit far-fetched, but maybe one of those waitresses got pregnant, resulting in a reincarnated Eggman, who rose to power and took over all the countries at once."

Meanwhile, Sonic Jr., Jade, and Tyco were crouched just outside the door to Tails' and Knuckles' bedroom, beaming with anxiety as they listed in on the discussion.

"Gee, this seems pretty serious." Tyco whispered.

"Yeah. But still interesting at the same time." Jade added.

"Exactly! You know what this means, right guys?!" Junior asked.

"What?" The other two replied in unison.

"This could be our chance to go out on our first adventure and carry on the legacy of our parents!" Junior whispered excitedly, "Just think: I could finally prove myself and become a new hero just like Dad!"

"Wow, that _is_ a good idea!" Jade added, "Plus, it would also be a good opportunity to travel the... !"

The trio's discussion was cut off as the bedroom door flew open, sending all three offspring flying into the wall.

"Guys! What are you doing up?!" Sonic whispered harshly.

"We overheard your discussion, and we... we thought we could pitch in." Junior replied, "See, for the past few years, the three of us have been wanting to go out on our first adventure and try to prove to the world that we're true heroes like _you_."

"Awww, I'm flattered, son. But, uh, I'm not sure if you three are quite ready yet. It's your first time, and I don't want to see any of you get killed out there." Sonic replied, "... Tell ya' what? After this adventure is over, I'll consider letting you three try to stop some minor criminals... with my supervision of course."

All three youngsters adopted expressions of disappointment.

"Awww, really Dad? We _kinda'_ wanted you to let us do _this_ job! We're _sure_ we can handle it! I mean, look at who we were _born_ to!" Junior replied.

"Hmmm... you make a valid point." Sonic said, "... Alright. So how about this? First thing tomorrow morning, we'll take you all outside to test your powers, and _then_ we'll decide if you can come."

"And by 'come', you mean 'do this ourselves'?" Jade asked.

"We'll see." Sonic replied, "But right now, you three need to go to bed, you hear me?"

"Okay." Junior, Jade, and Tyco replied in unison.


	3. Chapter 3: Preparing For Adventure

Chapter 3: Preparing For Adventure:

The next morning, Sonic Jr. was lounging on the living room couch, watching the television.

"And now we return to 'The Amazing Sonic Man'!" The narrator said.

The screen showed a man in a mask and T-shirt that were both themed after Sonic himself, alongside a pair of jeans and run-of-the-mill sneakers, running haphazardly around the city streets with his arms spread out, trying (and ultimately failing) to imitate Sonic's running style, and tiring out very quickly on several occasions. He later caught some criminals robbing a bank and chased them into an alley (running out of steam multiple times in the process). After he finally caught up, he attempted to use a homing attack, but failed royally, slamming himself into a brick wall and breaking countless bones in his body, including his spinal column. Understandably, he let out a blood-curdling scream in response, as the two robbers stared at him incredulously.

" _There_ you are, Junior!" Sonic said, stepping into the room and catching his son by surprise.

"Gah!" Junior yelled in reply, nearly hitting the ceiling as he jumped.

"Sorry to startle you, but we need you outside! C'mon, son!" Sonic continued.

"Huh?" Junior asked.

"Y'know, to test out your powers? So we can make the decision?" Sonic replied.

"Oh yeah! Right!" Junior replied, zipping out of the room and heading out back.

Sonic shut off the TV and followed him.

The duo made their way outside, where everyone else from the household (alongside Cream, who had become Tails' fiancé after the events of the previous story) was gathered outside, within the large, grassy expanse beyond the pool-deck.

"Um, what's this about?" Junior asked curiously.

"We're gonna test out your powers here, so we can see if you're up to the task." Knuckles replied, "We'll go from there afterwards."

"Oh! Right! I almost forgot!" Junior replied, "Me first!"

Junior began to sprint in place, charging up a Super Peel-Out in the process, before taking off into the distance, accompanied by a loud noise that stemmed from the shattering of the sound-barrier. In less than a second, he arrived back home from the same direction he had been facing when he first left.

"Damn, Junior! You _might_ just be faster than your father!" Amy praised, before noticing Sonic glaring daggers at her in a rather uncomfortable manner, "I-I mean, just _as_ fast as your father!"

"And that's not all!" Junior exclaimed, curling into a ball.

He began zooming rapidly around the yard, causing the countless Chao within the garden to scatter and even running over a few in the process. He rammed through a few leaf piles, and used the homing attack on several shrubs, before finally screeching to a halt.

"Welp, I guess _you_ passed the test." Sonic said, "Kinda' surprised you didn't get anything from your mother, but ah well."

"You're up next, Jade!" Shadow called, before he and Rouge noticed their daughter stepping out in a rather unenthusiastic manner.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Rouge asked.

"Well, I... I'm not too sure about this." Jade replied, "Unlike _him_ , I've _never_ tested my powers before. What if something goes wrong?"

"Now _you_ stop with that negativity _right now_ , young lady!" Rouge snapped, "If _I_ can conceive you while wearing five Nuva-Rings, and pop you out in the back of a public bus, then _you_ can save our world! This is _exactly_ why we're testing your powers out here _now_ , so we can make sure you're ready! That way, if anything goes wrong _here_ , we can just pay the damages!"

"Alright." Jade replied, slightly more emboldened.

"Good. Now go get 'em, girly!" Rouge said, lightly and playfully slapping her daughter across the buttocks.

Jade stepped out in front of the group and took a deep breath, before flapping her bat-wings and hovering six feet off the ground.

"Great! Now why don't you pick up Junior and see if that flight can benefit anyone besides yourself?" Sonic asked.

Obediently, Jade held one of Junior's hands in each of her own, and lifted them both off the ground, possessing enough strength to fly just as high.

"Suddenly, I'm in the mood to turn on the Genesis." Tails commented.

"Sweet! _Now_ add your _other_ partner to the stack!" Sonic requested.

Tyco grabbed onto Junior's feet and the trio lifted off of the ground just as easily as before, and this time they flew even higher, with Jade showing no signs of strain against the extra weight.

"Alright, now put them down gently." Sonic said, his request getting granted almost immediately after being made.

"Okay, next up, let's test your _other_ abilities!" Tails suggested, setting up a scarecrow nearby and rejoining the others immediately afterward.

Jade took a deep breath and gave an epic grunt as she launched a quick attack on it, using various stylish kicks, punches, and chops, and displaying a black-belt-worthy knowledge of all known martial arts. Despite her aggressive assault, however, the scarecrow was somehow able to withstand it all, aside from some of his straw getting knocked out. Finally, Jade ended the attack and stood back, showing no indications of being exhausted.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, the chromosome that came from your father should've given you some powers beyond the physical category." Tails said, "Why don't we test out _those_ bad boys, shall we?"

"Okay." Jade nodded, closing her eyes, "Chaos... CONTROL!"

Given the fact that there were no Chaos Emeralds in the vicinity, the chaos control did not slow down time, and it only transported her a quarter of a mile away. She walked back over to the group, and before anyone could ask her to, she held both hands out in front of her and let loose a chaos spear, setting the nearby scarecrow on fire. This triggered some applause from the onlookers.

"Alrighty then. _Now_ try a Chaos Blast. And don't worry about destroying anything. We can't determine if you can do this if you don't go all out _now_." Shadow said.

"No problem. Uh... how about I do this underwater?" Jade asked.

Everyone shrugged as she climbed into the pool and stood on the floor of the deep-end. Though nobody could hear her say the voice command for the attack, they all saw a crimson red glow emit from beneath the water, followed by an explosion powerful enough to send every drop of it out of the pool. This led to some more applause. Soon enough, Jade climbed out of the pool, completely unharmed as she gave a thumbs-up.

"And that leaves me." Tyco said confidently as he strutted in front of the group.

Everyone watched in silent apprehension as the third member of the trio shut his eyes lightly to maintain his focus, while the gauntlet on his right hand began to glow neon-orange. He then shot his eyes open and launched a fireball at the nearly-destroyed scarecrow, though he quickly activated his psychokinesis and caught it before the scarecrow could get disintegrated completely. He then used the latter power to juggle some of his fireballs around, a cocky grin on his face.

"Interesting!" Tails noted, excitedly scribbling some notes on a clipboard, "It seems that you lucked out and got powers from both of your parents, though to compensate, you can only use one power per hand!"

Tyco examined his hands without a word in response to this comment.

"However, that leaves us with a problem: if half of your system is responsible for managing your pyrokinesis, then it might impede your ability to levitate yourself in the air." Tails continued, "... Er, let's see if my hypothesis is correct."

"Whatever you say!" Tyco replied, proceeding to levitate himself off the ground with no problem, and even managing to fly himself all the way to the rooftop.

"Welp, nevermind." Tails said, crossing out one of his notes, "I guess the flames are only concentrated in one of your hands, then. You can come back down now!"

Tyco nodded and dove forwards off the roof, causing the others to call out in alarm.

"TYCO!" Blaze screamed.

"SON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Silver yelled, "USE YOUR TELEKINESIS! QUICKLY! HURRY UP! NOW!"

Tyco instead spread his arms out in front of him and managed to glide his way down to the ground unharmed, causing everyone else on the scene to stare at him with their jaws dropped to an all-time low - almost to the point of unhinging themselves.

"Wh-Wha? How did you... ?" Sonic asked, stupefied.

"How the fuck could he do _that_?!" Silver asked in disbelief, "I mean, neither of _us_ can do... !"

"KNUCKLES!" Blaze suddenly yelled, cutting her husband off.

Everyone looked in the direction of Knuckles, who was twiddling his fingers and blushing madly, a wide, sheepish grin on his face.

"Well... _y-you_ know how I am when I see people getting it on!" He said, "Hahah! I've _always_ been a sucker for good threesomes!"

"I _thought_ I was feeling a bit more pleasure than before!" Blaze said angrily, "I mean, sure, it still felt good, _especially_ considering _Silver's_ microscopic package, but... yeah, not cool, Knuckles!"

Knuckles could only yelp in fear as Blaze lit both of her hands on fire and let out a loud, angry meow, before proceeding to chase him around the yard. Everyone watched the sight for a few minutes, some of the onlookers chuckling to themselves occasionally. Eventually, a few, including Tails, turned around, noticing that Tyco had climbed to the roof again. He glided towards the ground again, this time taking the opportunity to grab an apple off the nearby tree with his telekinesis, munching on it shortly after he came in for a landing. Tails' eyes widened before he quickly wrote some more notes down on his clipboard.

"GUYS!" He yelled as Knuckles and Blaze sped by, causing them both to screech to a halt, "So I just made some more observations here, and it seems that your son's gliding ability - however unnatural it may be - _does_ provide him with the ability to get some air-time without compromising his psychic powers."

"That's cool, I guess." Blaze replied, before shooting an uncomfortable glare in Knuckles' direction.

"Alrighty!" Sonic said, loudly clapping his hands together once to grab everyone's attention, "All three of them seem to be pretty proficient with their powers, so I think it's okay to let them go on their first quest!"

Junior, Jade, and Tyco cheered in unison, exchanging high-fives, all accompanied by applause from the rest of the household.

The next day, the trio was busying themselves with the process of packing their suitcases and saying their goodbyes to their parents. Junior was the last of the three to step out of their shared bedroom, and when he was about to follow his partners, Sonic came up behind him.

"Hey, uh, Junior?" He asked, "C'mon, son. I've got something for ya'."

"Okay." Junior replied, following his father into Sonic and Amy's room.

Once both hedgehogs were inside, Sonic lightly pushed the door shut, paying no mind to the fact that it only closed about seventy-five percent. Junior sat down on the king-sized bed, slightly curious and anxious about the surprise, and also noticing that his father was wearing a pair of scarlet loafers with a white and gold plaid pattern on them, instead of his usual sneakers. Sonic cracked open the closet door and peered in, repeatedly glancing behind him to make sure his son wasn't peeking. After a few seconds more, he finally returned and sat down on the bed next to Junior, holding the same pair of running shoes that he had worn during _Sonic Adventure 2_.

"Wait! _Those_ are your... !" Junior exclaimed.

"I know! Pretty cool, aren't they?" Sonic cut him off, "They're for _you_ , son! I've got over fifty pairs of my _usual_ shoes, but _these_ babies are one of a kind! I'd say you've _more_ than earned 'em!"

"Well thanks... but I mean, I... " Junior replied hesitantly, "Wh-What about _you_? Just because _I'm_ the one doing the job this time doesn't mean you should just give these up! How will you be able to keep crime-fighting without your shoes? Or _better_ question: what if something goes wrong? If I wear these shoes out, people will associate me with _you_ , and who _knows_ what they'll think if they see me fail?"

"Well I've got _news_ for ya', kiddo! You _won't_ fail!" Sonic replied confidently, "And it's not the _shoes_ that are important; it's the _runner_! _Believe_ me, if it weren't for the impracticality of it all, I'd have gone on all my adventures _barefoot_! Besides, I've _outgrown_ that particular pair, so it won't make a difference if you damage or lose them!"

"Thanks, Dad!" Junior said, accepting the shoes with a warm smile.

Sonic only smiled in response as he watched Junior remove his original sneakers and put on the new hand-me-downs, marveling at how they looked on him.

"Yup! Seems like a perfect fit!" Sonic said enthusiastically.

"Great! Thanks again!" Junior replied, embracing his father in a tight hug.

"Uh, hey guys?" Knuckles interrupted as he peeked into the room, "Hate to break up this touching moment, but you should probably leave soon, Junior."

"Be right there." Junior replied, dashing out of the bedroom.

"Have fun on your trip, son!" Sonic called after him.

Once all the bags were placed out front, only then did a very good question arise: how would the trio be able to embark on their quest as efficiently as possible? Before any of the three could answer, they heard the quiet revving of an engine, which turned out to be none other than Tails' Tornado-2 as it was pulled into the driveway.

"Wait! You still _own_ that thing?!" Sonic asked, having stepped out front just in time to see this, "I thought you scrapped it _years_ ago!"

"Sonic, _you_ of _all_ people should know how hopelessly attached I am to my machines!" Tails replied, "And with right _now_ as any indication, I'm _glad_ I was so attached!"

Nobody said anything else as Tails hopped out of the plane.

"Alright, so this is the vehicle that you'll all be using to make your adventure as streamlined as possible." He explained, "It's fast, it has multiple configurations, it can defend itself competently, it can hold _tons_ of weight _and_ up to four passengers, has _incredible_ horsepower, can conceal the heat-signatures of both itself _and_ its occupants, and is solar-powered, so it won't run out of fuel! And I know that none of you have flown a plane before, but you don't need to worry. It's pretty much like driving a car, but with altitude controls and the ability to rotate in any direction. _You_ three know how to drive, right?"

"Well, yeah, aside from crashing Dad's old sports-car a few times." Junior replied sheepishly, a hand behind his blushing face.

"Riiiigggghhhht." Tails replied.

" _My_ insurance hasn't gone up since I came of age, so I think I'm the best bet." Tyco chimed in, eliciting some nods of approval from his partners.

"Then it's settled." Tails replied, escorting Tyco into the plane and watching as he sat in the driver's seat, "That lever right by the steering wheel changes the mode of transportation. It can become a battle-mech, a submarine, a ski-boat, or a plane, which is not only its _default_ setting, but _also_ contains a battle mode of its _own_. And don't you worry, _this_ battle mode actually has landing gear!"

"Doesn't seem to hard." Tyco replied.

"Moving on then. There are plenty of features you'll commonly find in cars, so I don't think I need to go over _those_. This plane can also be switched to auto-pilot, and even be parked in the air, in case it won't fit in the desired area. And if you ever find yourself separated from it, there's a handy little mouthpiece that lets you connect to the plane as long as you're wearing it, and it's super small so nobody will notice. All you have to do is call it with a dog-whistle, and it works no matter how far away the plane is." Tails explained, "And it also has a built-in Miles Electric - patented by me, of course - so we can contact you!"

"So not only did you hold onto this old plane for so long, but you also _upgraded_ it?!" Knuckled asked, he and everyone else in the household now standing outside to watch the scene, "And if so, then what stopped you from _using_ it all these years?!"

"Well, I've been _meaning_ to, but we just haven't needed it since the Black Arms fiasco." Tails replied, hopping out of the plane as Jade and Junior climbed into the remaining seats.

"Okay, so now that all this technobabble is done and over-with, can we leave now?" Jade asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Don't worry! You're all set!" Shadow replied, "And listen: don't worry about us! We'll stay back, and make sure those corrupt politicians don't lay a _finger_ on the United Federation!"

After all three heroes said their goodbyes, Tyco proceeded to rev up the engine and prepare to exit the driveway.

"Wait! _Wait_! WAIT!" Amy shouted, hurrying up to the side of the Tornado-2.

"Really? You're getting emotional _now_?!" Junior muttered with an eye-roll.

"I heard that!" Amy replied, "And even though I _am_ emotional, I have something much more important to tell you guys: it's _really_ important that you three back each other up as much as possible, and stick together no matter what happens. A hero's strength doesn't just stem from his powers, but also from his allies."

"Oh, chillax, Mom! I can work in a group no problem! I'm not as headstrong as Dad!" Junior replied in a snarky tone.

"I heard that!" Sonic called, still standing on the doorstep.

"I'll take that as an 'I understand'." Amy replied, retreating back up the driveway, "Now go have fun saving our planet! And don't hesitate to call us if you need anything!"

"Don't worry!" Tyco called back as the plane finally exited the gate and turned onto the quiet neighborhood street, "We'll show those creeps the real super power of teamwork!"

"Well, I guess that's that." Silver said after the children had left earshot.

"Eh... part of me kinda' wanted to go _with_ them." Sonic said with a somber sigh, "I may be older than I was during the _last_ story, but as far as _I'm_ concerned, age is just a number!"

"Honestly, it's for the best. They _need_ the experience. You _know_ we can't keep protecting this world _forever_. We need to pass the responsibility on to a _new_ generation before it's too late." Blaze replied.

"What the hell?! Whaddaya _mean_ 'too late'?!" Shadow asked, "I'm _immortal_ , remember?!"

"... With some exceptions, of course!" Blaze quickly replied.

"I guess you're right." Sonic sighed again, "Ah well. I guess a father-son adventure will have to wait, huh?"

"Well, there's always hope for a _third_ entry in this series, right?" Tails asked.

"Yeah." Sonic replied.

"You know, I can't help but feel a little worried _myself_." Rouge said, "Part of me _badly_ wants to help them in some way, like... I dunno, send someone to provide assistance?"

"Like who?" Knuckles asked.

"Gee, that's a good question." Rouge replied, before adopting a sly look on her face as she stared sultrily at Shadow out the corners of her eyes, "Maybe we could... _make_ an ally?"

"No way in hell!" Shadow retorted, folding his arms tightly, "The _last_ time we did it, you went overboard with the hickies! By the time the sun came back up, I looked like _Sonic_!"

Some members of the household adopted expressions of disgust while the rest roared with laughter.

Meanwhile, the trio was happily flying a good 30,000 feet above ground, officially commencing with their adventure. All three heroes were in high spirits with little to no angst within them.

"Alright, so now that we're in the air, how about we decide what our first stop should be?" Jade asked.

Tyco nodded and pulled up a global GPS on the Miles Electric, which had a glowing marker placed on each continent that contained a Chaos Emerald.

"Why don't we stop at the Genesis Isles first? It's the closest destination!" He suggested.

"Sounds good." Jade and Junior replied in unison.

"Next stop, the Genesis Isles!" Tyco announced, increasing the Tornado-2's speed a little, "Hopefully we won't be late for our date with 'Eggman'! Apparently, it's a date to _die_ for!"

"I can't wait to destroy some of those Eggman's robots!" Junior replied lightheartedly.

"I swear, if this quest is filled to the brim with Sonic Heroes jokes, I'm gonna have a stroke!" Jade groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4: To Grandma's House We Go!

Chapter 4: To Grandma's House We Go!

The flight from the United Federation to the Genesis Isles took just over an hour. By the time the trio was primed to land just offshore, it was still broad daylight.

"Alright, so according to the map, the most probable spot to begin our search is on Christmas Island." Tyco explained, "But there's nowhere on the island that's suitable for parking a plane, and the water's too shallow to bring in a boat."

"Good thing Dad taught us how to swim, then!" Junior replied.

"Fuck _swimming_! I can just fly over to the beach like it's _nothing_!" Jade replied with a cocky smirk.

"If you say so." Tyco replied with a shrug.

Without another word, the hedgehog-cat hybrid pressed a button and the Tornado-2 entered its air-boat mode, which simply involved sprouting some landing-gear that was heavy enough to hold it upright, but light enough to let it float on the ocean's surface. He then pulled a small lever, which anchored it to the bottom of the thirty-foot water.

"Alright, I'll see you slowpokes on the sand." Jade jeered as she leapt out of the plane and flew over to the black-sand beach.

Now, Junior and Tyco were the only ones left on the Tornado-2.

"Wanna race?" Junior asked, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.

"If you want to, I guess." Tyco replied indifferently.

After revving up for a spell, Junior took off, boosting across the water and spraying much of it behind him as he ran.

"Wait! STOP!" Tyco yelled after him, "If you run like that, you _might_ cause... !"

His sentence was cut off as a massive tidal wave spawned right in front of him and sent the plane rocking back and forth for a bit, before it sped towards the shoreline.

"Goddamn it, Junior!" Tyco said with a face-palm before he jumped into the water and swam for shore as fast as he could.

Given the speed that he inherited from his father, Junior was able to pass Jade and won the race to the beach. He said nothing as he eyed her with a competitive grin, watching as she stepped onto the sand with an unamused look on her face.

"Did I ever tell you that you look totally hot when you're pissed off?" Junior asked, maintaining his cocky demeanor.

"Hmph." Jade groaned in reply, before both she and her partner noticed a humungous shadow creeping over the beach.

The large wave that Junior had caused was approaching the heavily-populated public beach at an alarming rate. Everyone immediately broke out in screams and started to flee the scene, but there were still a lot of people in the water, who couldn't seem to swim away fast enough.

"You may have won that race, but at least _I_ didn't put all these innocents in _danger_!" Jade said, "Ooh! Just _imagine_ what the world will think when they see that _you_ \- Sonic the Hedgehog _Junior_ \- committed genocide with a tidal-wave! I'm sure they'll all be shouting: 'Oh! That kid is _nothing_ like his father! He's not even a _hero_! _He_ won't protect us! He'll just _kill_ us! And he'll _never_ be able to live up to that legacy!' Hah! I can see Uncle Sonic's disappointed face _right now_!"

"S-SHUT UP!" Junior shouted in reply, growing a little nervous, "I'll think of something! I _swear_!"

Suddenly, Tyco popped up ahead of the tidal-wave, using the strong current to gain some distance. He then leapt from the water and levitated himself in midair with his telekinesis, before stalling the wave in place with it as well. He then released a small burst of blue aura, sending the wave zooming off in the opposite direction before it disappeared in a burst of countless water droplets. Both Jade and Junior gave a sigh of relief as their comrade climbed out of the water.

"You _really_ should've been more careful, you know that?" He asked, "'Cuz if I weren't here, what would you have done?"

"My bad." Junior replied sheepishly, "But look, at least nobody was hurt. Now can we get back to what we were _trying_ to do?"

The trio proceeded to continue their search, walking up along a boardwalk and finally entering the crowded streets of the large town. Despite the unfitting scenery and climate, every building as far as the eye could see was covered in Christmas decorations of all varieties.

"So I guess _that's_ where this island gets its name from?" Jade asked, "The people here are just too damn lazy to take down their holiday decorations?"

"That's actually pretty funny, but at the same time it isn't." Tyco replied, "I mean, what if some _Jewish_ guy were to come here?"

"Well, _I_ don't think they'd feel too out of place!" Junior replied, thumbing to a small restaurant that they were passing by, which read 'Entirely Kosher Menu' on one of the windows.

The three heroes continued walking, looking around and occasionally stopping to look at something. Eventually, they began to pass through a marketplace, full of many fresh ingredients that they had never seen at home before. While they were weaving through the crowd, however, Tyco noticed a blue hedgehog walking around among the stands, looking much like Sonic, though with a much older and more feminine appearance, and with long, thick hair on the top and sides of her head that matched the rest of her fur. She was clad in a deep purple dress and matching slippers, alongside a pink shawl with white fuzz along the edges. The trio inadvertently passed right by her as they neared the exit, though she spotted them and immediately stepped in front of them.

"Oh! Um... hi?" Jade said as politely as she could through her nervousness.

"I don't know who the _rest_ of you are, but _you_ , young man, are coming with me!" The hedgehog said harshly, gripping Junior's ear and dragging him away.

"Ow! Wha-?! Hey!" Junior groaned as he was pulled off, "What's the big idea?!"

"The 'big idea' is the fact that I'm taking you home! You've got a lot of fessing up to do after you ditched me all those years ago!" The hedgehog replied, "And I _also_ see that you've dyed your hair, which I do _not_ approve of, so we'll get that taken care of too! Don't try to argue, or I'll give you what for!"

"Lady, what the actual fuck are you talking about?! We've never even _met_ before!" Junior retorted, "And these streaks are natural too, so good luck getting 'em out _anyway_!"

"Don't play dumb with _me_! I'm your mother! Aleena! And I don't think I need to remind you what _your_ name is!" The hedgehog replied, "And another thing: don't you _ever_ use language like that around me again, you hear me Sonic?!"

"Wait! 'Sonic'?!" Tyco asked.

"I _believe_ you have him confused for someone else!" Jade added.

"Nonsense! You think I can't tell my own son apart from any other hedgehog?!" Aleena asked in disbelief.

"No! They're telling the truth"! Junior replied, finally wrenching himself out of the elderly hedgehog's grip, "Sonic and I are _totally_ different hedgehogs! In fact, he's my father!"

"What?!" Aleena asked.

"I'm his son! Sonic Junior!" Junior finished, dusting off his arm.

"Oh! Uh... er... well, uh, my apologies!" Aleena replied, "Tell ya' what? I'll make it up to you by letting you in my house! If I can't get to Sonic, I'll need to find some _other_ way to catch up!"

"No problem!" Junior, Jade, and Tyco replied in unison.

By evening, the four arrived at Aleena's sky-blue cottage, located within a suburb just a few miles outside the village.

"Alright, folks! Please get as comfortable as you need to!" Aleena said as she began to unpack her grocery bag, "I apologize _again_ for that mishap earlier! I guess I just got overly excited when I saw someone who looked like my son!"

"Nah! Aside from the ear-pulling, it wasn't a big deal." Junior replied, he and his partners taking seats at the kitchen table.

"Glad to hear it." Aleena replied.

"So, um, Aleena." Tyco began, "What exactly do you _do_ with your life?"

"Dammit, Tyco! We don't even fully _know_ her, and you're _already_ asking these kinds of questions?!" Jade asked harshly.

"You watch your mouth, young lady!" Aleena replied sternly, setting a plate covered in wax paper into the microwave, "But no, it's not a problem. If what you all are saying is true, then _Junior_ over here would be my _grandson_!"

"Honestly, Dad never talked about his background or his family. Hell... er, I mean... _heck_ , he never even told me where he _came_ from!" Junior said, "So _that_ would explain why I'd never met you before!"

"Part of me can probably guess why." Aleena replied, before her thoughts were interrupted by the dinging of the microwave, "So are you kids willing to stay for dinner? I've still got all these chili dogs leftover from last week's bingo night! If you're anything like your father, I'll bet you'd _greatly_ enjoy them!"

"Stole the words right from my mouth." Junior replied happily.

Nobody else spoke up as Aleena set the platter of chili dogs on the pre-set table and lifted the sheet of wax paper, releasing a thick cloud of aroma into the air and causing some condensation to drip onto the table.

"Sorry if they're a little different! The hot dogs I _normally_ use are imported from Empire City, but they became unavailable after this country suddenly went communist!" Aleena said apologetically, "I _would_ complain about it, but... y'know, we're communist!"

"Don't you worry, Aleena! I may have the same favorite food as my dad, but I'm not as picky!" Junior replied, immediately setting two chili dogs on his plate.

"Please! You can call me 'grandma'!" Aleena replied.

"Say, that reminds me! _We're_ actually here because... !" Tyco started.

"That can wait for now!" Jade interrupted, "You said you were gonna give us some insight on Sonic's past, right?"

"Oh, sure! Allow me to divulge in the story!" Aleena began, clearing her throat, "So as you already know, your father was born to both me and my late husband, Buck. He was actually a triplet, and his siblings were named Sonia and Manic."

"Wait! Sonic Underground is canon?!" Tyco asked, bewildered.

"Well, not _entirely_. I was never a queen, and my kids were never part of a rock band." Aleena replied, "And since I had an idiot moment and drank while pregnant, Sonic was born with a mutation that gave him the ability to outrun sound. To this day, I still don't know why only _he_ got those powers, but I digress. Both Manic and Sonia strove for more realistic jobs as they grew up, with Sonia entering law-school, and Manic attempting to start a band. However, Sonic wanted to become a hero, and he would always run off randomly every time he had a chance to save something, even if it meant getting into trouble in the process, and he never listened no matter how much I scolded him. Now, part of the reason behind my parenting was because not long after he was born, Buck died at sea, and I didn't want my own son to meet a similar fate. Eventually, he got fed up with me and ran off towards South Island, which was being invaded at the time. In the years since then, I've heard many epic tales of what an amazing hero Sonic has become, but he's never come back to visit me."

By the time Aleena finished her tirade, it was completely dark outside, and the entire platter of chili dogs had been finished thanks to the combined efforts of herself, and the three heroes.

"Wow! I'm truly sorry to hear that!" Junior commented, "And now that I know the full story, I'm _also_ curious about Buck!"

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to ask Chuck over at the docks. He can tell you the story better than I _ever_ could." Aleena replied, before turning to Tyco, "Now. What was it you were going to ask, sweetie?"

"Oh, uh, well, you see _we've_ actually got our _own_ business in this country! Uncle Sonic heard reports about some Eggman guy who took over all these islands and turned the entire country communist, upholding his power with a Chaos Emerald. So he sent _us_ on this mission so we could prove our competence as heroes." Tyco explained, "Would you by any chance know any useful information about this?"

"Eh, not much, unfortunately. All I remember is seeing a trail of green light fall from the sky and land somewhere off in the distance - maybe in the mountains, or on one of the other islands. Then just a week later, all three branches of our government were overthrown by some eccentric man with an army of robots." Aleena replied.

"That's fine." Jade replied.

After a few moments of silence, Aleena let out a yawn.

"Alright, it's getting a bit late! Feel free to crash somewhere here for the night! _I'm_ gonna retire to my sixty-year-old, king-sized bed with the sheets that are completely dry and stiff from your grandfather's semen!" She said, walking upstairs.

All three heroes grimaced in disgust at that remark.

"Oh, and I've got a second bedroom upstairs where the kids used to sleep, and the couch down here can be pulled out into a bed if necessary." Aleena quickly added.

"DIBS!" Tyco yelled, teleporting upstairs.

An audible click could be heard, signifying that he had locked the door to the guest room.

"I swear, the powers that the animals in this world get are becoming weirder and _weirder_ these days!" Aleena said, finally reaching the top of the stairs.

"... I guess we'll have to _share_ the couch, then?" Junior asked, his arms behind his back.

"Hah! You wish!" Jade replied, flashing a smirk that was somewhere between unamused and playful as she walked over to unfold the futon.

"What?! N-No! I didn't mean... Look, there's _no way_ I'm sleeping on the floor!" Junior replied, hurrying over to the couch as well.

"Fine! But if you start running in your sleep, your ass is getting kicked into that armchair over there!" Jade said sternly, pointing to a patched-up armchair in the corner of the living-room.

"I _heard_ that!" Aleena yelled from upstairs.

Junior gulped.


	5. Chapter 5: A Crucial Clue

Chapter 5: A Crucial Clue:

The next morning, Junior, Jade, and Tyco woke up at around 8:00am, and after a hearty breakfast, they set out to continue their search for the first Chaos Emerald. At the moment, they were walking along the streets on the outskirts of town.

"Hmmm... we should be getting pretty close now." Jade noted, checking the map on the Miles Electric.

"Remind me again, why are we seeking out this Chuck guy?" Tyco asked.

"So we can learn a bit more about Dad's background." Junior replied, " _And_ to see if he knows anything useful about the recent change of government."

"Oh, right!" Tyco replied.

Before long, the trio finally reached the docks and began to look around. The area was virtually barren, though a tall, pale blue hedgehog with bushy, gray facial-hair, a faded orange vest, and a navy-blue sailor's hat was standing at attention, busying himself by scrubbing blood and guts off of a cutting board, presumably from a recently-butchered fish.

"Excuse us, sir. Um, you wouldn't happen to know a certain hedgehog around here. He goes by the name Chuck, and he's apparently the uncle of Sonic the Hedgehog." Junior asked him.

"Oy! You land-lovers be unfamiliar to me eyes!" The hedgehog replied, speaking in a Scottish sailor accent, "I'm-a guessin' this be _your_ vessel?"

The trio followed the man's extended hand to see the tornado-2, still in its air-boat form as it was parked against the docks.

"The coast guard be very strict about random boats bein' anchored out there in the water! So they towed it back here to the docks!" The hedgehog explained, "An' since that vessel ain't never been seen before, like _you_ lot, I'd assume you all be newcomers, eh?"

"Er... _yes_ , actually." Tyco replied, "And we have a _reason_ to be here. We got word about some guy who came out of nowhere and took over the entire country with the power of a Chaos Emerald, and we're trying to investigate and _hopefully_ get that emerald back into the right hands."

"Ay! So you all be tryin' to slay that ol' Kraken Dr. Eggman, eh?" The hedgehog asked, "I'd be a-lyin' if I said that rapscallion not be messin' with me business. See, I be a deep-sea fisherman with a part-time job as a treasure hunter - followin' a brief stint as a chili-dog vendor, but I digress - an' ever since the ol' leviathan took over, there be a _major_ shortage of sea life!"

"Huh! So it _is_ Eggman!" Jade noted.

"But allow me to introduce meself! I am Captain Chuck!" The hedgehog said, tipping his sailor hat.

"Well then you're _just_ the guy we're looking for!" Junior exclaimed, "If what Aleena told us is true, then you would be the uncle of Sonic the Hedgehog, right?"

"Indeed." Chuck replied.

"Yeah, and I'm his son, Sonic the Hedgehog Junior." Junior replied.

"What?! You land-lovin' critters be a-pullin' me hardened ol' legs!" Chuck said in shock, "You be a-tryin' to follow in the footsteps of that Sonic? That be _no_ easy task, me squire!"

"Well, we're _totally_ up to it! I'm Jade by the way!" Jade replied, shaking Chuck's hand.

"And I'm Tyco." Tyco added in, following suit.

"Charmed." Chuck replied.

"Anyways, Aleena sent us here to see if you might know something about this sudden crisis." Jade said.

"Ah, yes! Well all I know is, I be carryin' out me work as usual, but as I mentioned before, there be an unusual shortage of sea life! Business be down because of it all, lads!" Chuck explained, "Eh, but I _do_ recall seein' a green streak of light fallin' down onto this here island, only to disappear. Sometime afterwards, Eggman began his reign, an' I saw him take the magnificent jewel underground."

"Underground?" Tyco asked.

"I don't know how the land-lover did something like that, for there be nothin' but magma below - _along_ with a rumored underwater temple." Chuck replied.

"An underwater temple?" Jade asked.

"Ay! Legend has it that if one stumbles upon a special, one-of-a-kind, stone tablet, they shall discover the entrance to a temple below the sea, full of many treasures, including the very legend that took the life of me brother an' closest companion." Chuck continued.

"Well, judging by the signal from the Chaos Emerald, I think trying to find that temple would be our best bet right now." Tyco said, "I know it seems a little far-fetched, but if the emerald is indeed underground on _this island_ , then where else could it be? If it were inside the volcano, it would be _disintegrated_!"

"Great Uncle Chuck!" Junior began, "Would you by any chance be able to give us at least a _cursory_ idea of where to find the tablet?"

"Er, it's somewhere within this island chain... and it be in three separate fragments, I can tell ya' _that_ much." Chuck replied, "Oh, but if you lot be plannin' to search for them, I'm afraid ya' can't _fly_ to reach 'em! The winds be calm around Christmas Island, but they be akin to typhoons around them _other_ islands! Not even one of the large passenger jets that them air-lovers be usin' can make it up there! The only way to bypass is by boat - an _actual_ boat, not a hybrid! Thus, allow me to introduce you lot to... The Ribbon Seal!"

As Chuck finished his sentence, he extended his hand towards a decently-sized motorboat with a faded red bottom that was white everywhere else, not far from where the four were standing.

"You expect us to _drive_ that thing?!" Tyco asked.

"No, ye' silly kippers! _Sail_ , not _drive_!" Chuck replied, "An' _I'll_ be comin' with! This ol' man be in need of some fond adventurin', what with the lack of seafood here to provide an equivalent to _treasure_!"

"Rad! Thanks, Chuck!" Junior replied eagerly, climbing into the boat alongside his partners.

"Don't ya' mention it, laddy!" Chuck replied, waving his hand dismissively.

Before long, the four set off onto the tropical waters between The Genesis Isles, currently headed for South Island, due to an odd signal that came from it.

"So, uh Chuck?" Junior asked tentatively.

"Ay ay, Junior!" Chuck replied eagerly.

"Um, you said you were gonna fill us in about Buck. Y'know, your brother? My _grandfather_?" Junior continued.

"Ah, yes! Me brother! Quite a character, that one! Tough and stubborn as a barnacle, yet gentle as a kelp frond, an' charming as a dolphin! He was a great fisherman slash treasure hunter much like meself, but with a much greater number of achievements than I could ever _hope_ to make! He married that _lovely_ ol' siren, Aleena! Had feelins' for the lass back then - still do to this day, but alas, beaten to the punch I was!" Chuck explained, "Anyways, we would often fish together, an' whenever work hours ended, we would go out every night to chase after the most _mysterious_ of nautical legends! We debunked _many_ together, with some yieldin' treasure, an' others yieldin' naught! However, there was one legend in _particular_ that we both sought out! One that neither of us managed to solve, either alone, or together, no matter how many attempts we made!"

"Which one _was_ it?" Jade asked.

"Oy! It be the legend of an elusive orca, with ivory blubber, eyes of rose-gold, an' many a scar on its body! They say she patrols the coast of Christmas Island on the night of the full moon, an' assumes control of all aquatic predators, viciously executing those who resist - thereby explaining the unusually safe waters around these here islands. Said whale is rumored to bring good lady luck to those who appease her with the freshest and finest of seafood." Chuck explained, "One night, your grand-pappy an' I set out to find this majestic beauty of a creature, bringin' along a freshly-prepared lobster roll sprinkled with caviar from the largest an' youngest of sturgeons. However, we had both forgotten that there be a new moon on that night. We still ended up findin' the whale, though, but she was _no_ angel - possibly on her _period_ even! Though we only saw a glimpse of her slender body, it would not be long before a massive storm would hit, tossin' Buck out of this here boat! I remember his screams that could churn a land-lover's blood into crimson butter! An' it be the last I saw of him too, for the army of sharks done devoured him! Me an' me vessel made it back, an' even though I live to tell the tale, nobody believes me, an' Aleena has refused to speak to me for _decades_ since!"

"Oh, wow!" Junior replied, "I... I don't... I dunno what to say..."

"That's _awful_!" Jade added.

"You _really_ ought to try and _do_ something about that, shouldn't you?" Tyco asked, only to be nudged hard in the ribs by Jade.

"Eh, maybe if time allows sometime in the future." Chuck replied.

"Well, all I can say is..." Junior began, "Maybe while we're searching for this tablet, we'll by chance stumble upon this whale too! ... So long as we don't get too _sidetracked_ , that is!"

"Hopefully, you'll have better luck than _we_ did!" Chuck said, "Alright, we be approachin' South Island now! Prepare to drop anchor an' disembark!"

"Woo hoo!" Jade cheered.

"Bout' time for some action, huh?!" Junior cheered.

"Right. Well, sorry to tell you land-lovers this, but I'll be a-stayin' back to watch over me ship! Captain's duty an' all that!" Chuck replied, "I be willin' to _sail_ places, but the actual _adventurin'_? Nope! Past me prime in _that_ department!"

"No problem! Thanks again, Chuck!" Junior replied.

"Don't mention it!" Chuck replied, "An' listen! Don't hesitate to make your pappy proud, ya' hear me?!"

"You know it!" Junior replied.


	6. Chapter 6: The Secret of South Island

Chapter 6: The Secret of South Island:

Within a few more minutes, the group finally dropped anchor right by South Island.

"Ahoy! Land ho! Land ho!" Chuck announced, "Alright, ye' scurvy sea dogs. Here we are at South Island. This be the closest spot I can take ya' to, I'm afraid."

"No problem. I'm sure we can find a way up there." Junior replied confidently.

"Just so long as the method we use isn't too reckless." Jade countered.

"Shut the fuck up." Junior replied, "I know better now."

"Oy! I see you all got yourselves a case of the Sailor's Mouth." Chuck chimed in, "Anyways, you three best get a-movin'. It is captain's duty to stay behind an' guard his ship."

"Okay then. See ya' later!" Tyco replied.

"Alright, guys. I'm not sure what _you two_ will need to do, but _I_ can just _climb_ my way up." Jade said, "... I mean, I _could_ carry you guys, but like Chuck said, the winds may blow us off course. And it's not like we know our way _around_ here."

"Good point. See you at the top." Tyco replied, before turning to Junior, "Okay, so I can use my telekinesis to stand on the walls, and I can use it to carry you too, but in order to prevent my powers from giving out, you'll need to _actually_ walk up the wall with me."

"Sounds easy enough." Junior replied.

"Alright, so first you need to jump towards the wall." Tyco explained, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

"What the hell makes you think I'm worried? I can swim just fine anyway!" Junior replied, before he did as he was told and jumped towards the wall.

The minute his red-shoed feet touched the stony cliff of South Island, Junior was caught in Tyco's telekinesis. Tyco himself levitated over to the rugged surface as well, and used his powers to let them both walk up onto the island. Within a few minutes, the duo caught up with Jade.

"Wow! Quite an impressive view, if I do say so myself!" Junior exclaimed, staring upwards at his female cohort.

Jade looked down briefly and barely saw Junior's head jerk down towards the ocean expanse behind him. A tiny smirk briefly appeared on her face, before she quickly masked it with a scowl.

"I swear to God, Junior!" She called back, "If there were solid ground below us, I'd kick you _so goddamn hard_... !"

"Eh, I don't think I'd mind all that much." Junior quipped in response, "You'd probably look _great_ doing it. Like I said, you look _really_ hot when you're mad."

Jade let out a somewhat high-pitched growl through her tightly-gritted teeth, but continued climbing nonetheless. Before long, all three heroes made it onto the island and stopped to take a look at their surroundings. There, at the top of the very cliff they had just scaled was a massive, grassy valley full of checkered patches of dirt, shuttle loops, and countless springs scattered throughout.

"Phew! For a second there, I thought we were gonna fall, Tyco!" Junior said, "I looked back down for a second, and you kinda' seemed to be struggling."

"Oh, I wasn't struggling to hold us up, I was just trembling a little from how cold those ocean winds were." Tyco replied, dusting off his arm.

"Surprised you weren't this nervous when you almost drowned a bunch of innocents back there." Jade sneered.

"That never happened!" Junior replied, folding his arms indignantly, "Besides, it's not like _Dad_ hasn't had his share of close calls!"

{A cutaway began, showing Sonic speeding through Green Hill Zone. He passed by a palm tree and quickly ground to a halt as he spotted an extra life monitor in its branches, stopping just a few feet ahead of it. "Ooh! Insurance! Don't think I'll really _need_ it, but, whatever!" Sonic said. Following this statement, he instinctively leapt up to try and knock the box out of the tree, which he did successfully. However, he didn't prepare for it to land on him, knocking him face-down into the dirt. He could feel his spine and countless other bones shattering from the impact and let out an ear-splitting, blood-curdling scream of pain as dark blood spilled out of his gravely injured body, only to pass out shortly thereafter. To the hedgehog's luck, the box shattered into pieces and the extra life popped out, restoring his health and allowing him to stand back up, completely unharmed. "Yeesh! That was _way_ too close!" Sonic yelped, before he quickly hurried off to continue his quest.}

"Say, um, isn't this Green Hill Zone? The same place Uncle Sonic visited on his first adventure?" Tyco asked.

"Well, what other places in the world even _look_ like this?!" Jade asked in reply.

"Heh! Who knew my first adventure would start in a very similar way as _his_?" Junior asked in awe, "Ready to check this place out?"

"Hold on!" Tyco replied, his index and middle fingers poking into his temples as he tightly shut his eyes, "I'm sensing something! It's... it's giving off some very... otherworldly signals!"

Junior and Jade looked at each other in confusion.

"... And it's somewhere on this very island!" Tyco continued, reverting to a more normal stance, "Chances are, it's a very powerful item! Possibly one of those tablet fragments that Chuck told us about!"

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Junior asked excitedly, "Let's go snag it before someone _else_ does!"

"Excellent choice." Tyco replied, briefly shutting his eyes and putting an index finger to his temple, "It's located somewhere in _that_ direction."

Jade and Junior followed his extended finger out to the east, all the way across Green Hill Zone.

"Welp, I guess we're all set!" Jade cheered.

"Here we... !" Junior started, "... GO!"

Junior was the first of the three to take off at full speed, drifting around every turn he could find, and boosting through several loops and corkscrews. Due to DNA from Blaze and Shadow respectively, both Tyco and Jade were able to reach impressive speeds as well, but neither were able to outrun Junior, only managing to reach 85% of his top speed. As he was zooming through the grassy expanse, the leader of the pack soon noticed several badniks patrolling the area.

"Hey guys!" He called back to his partners, "Looks like we've got company!"

Without another word, Junior slowed down just enough so he could focus on the incoming foes. He boosted through several Motobugs and used a nearby spring to launch himself into the air, allowing him to homing-attack his way across a chain of Buzzbombers. Upon reaching a higher ledge, he sped off at full speed once more, before suddenly screeching to a halt at the sight of a lone Motobug just ahead of him. After revving up a Super Peel-Out, he zoomed forward once more, before using a roundhouse kick to knock the robot into a dirt wall, cracking it slightly. Behind him, Tyco was seen destroying a few Orbinauts by sending their projectiles back in their direction, while Jade was using ninja-like reflexes to dodge an onslaught from a Slicer. She managed to flip over its head and kick it into the same wall that Junior was standing near. At the same time, Tyco used his telekinesis to halt a Shellcracker in its tracks, before conjuring up a fireball and fusing it into the robot. He then launched the deadly projectile at the wall too, finally revealing a smoking hole though it. Junior didn't hesitate to spin-dash into the hole, discovering a squiggly tunnel inside the wall, which he rolled through until he finally made his exit back into the sunlight. He briefly glanced behind him to see his partners hopping over the hill he had just torn through, before catching up to him once more.

Finally, the trio made it to the other side of the valley and slowed down, admiring a purplish stone temple just ahead of them with torches on either side of the massive doorway. The temple itself was built into a massive stone wall, preventing the heroes from stepping around it.

"Well _that's_ a scenery shock." Tyco noted.

"So are we going in, or what?" Jade asked.

"I don't see why not!" Junior replied, "I remember when I was a kid, Dad told me a bedtime story about how he came across a temple just like _this_ one after he sped through Green Hill Zone. If he can do it, then so can we!"

Jade and Tyco shrugged and followed him inside. The hallways were made entirely of stone in the same color as the temple's exterior, and were well lit with countless torches, the flickering flames giving the interior a very otherworldly appearance. Before long, the trio came across a pale yellow stone brick in the wall with an engraving on it.

"Welcome To Marble Zone. No Running Permitted. Or Else." Jade read aloud.

"Oh, goddamn it!" Junior moaned, "Now I know why Dad hated this place so much!"

"Well, it looks like we've got no other choice. C'mon, team!" Tyco replied.

After traveling down a few flights of purple stone stairs, the trio came across a gigantic pool of lava with a several green stone platforms scattered across it.

"Yikes." Jade said, her voice calm but her facial expression pensive.

"If we all take things slow, we should be fine." Tyco replied, leaping onto the nearest platform, which didn't sway at all when he landed on it.

"Seems easy enough." Junior replied, hopping across a few platforms himself, "If anything, _I'm_ the one who should be careful, since you two can fly."

"Good point." Jade replied, hovering over to a platform further across the lake than the other two, "So the burden's on you to not mess this up, team leader!"

Junior gulped and proceeded to hop across some more gaps. Before long, all three heroes made it back onto solid ground and gave a sigh of relief.

"Phew! What say we don't do that again, huh?!" Junior asked, unintentionally stepping on a tiny stone in the floor.

A loud clanging sound could be heard from above. All three looked up nervously, only to discover a spiked chandelier dropping towards them at an alarming rate. Tyco stood his ground, however, and caught it with his telekinesis.

"Tyco, what would we do without you?" Jade asked, she and her partner stepping out of the chandelier's range.

"You'd probably embarrass our parents." Tyco replied lightheartedly as he let the chandelier go.

Another hour passed, in which the three persevered through several rooms of a similar structure, before finally making it to a large doorway that led outside. However, the thing that piqued their interest the most was a vending machine right next to it.

"Wait, what?!" Junior asked incredulously, "They seriously hold _tours_ here?!"

"Well, money talks!" Tyco replied, "Now as for _me_ , I'm gonna get some jerky!"

Junior and Jade rolled their eyes in unison as they watched him strut over to the vending machine.

"Hmm... _this_ flavor looks interesting! The package is all colorful and stuff!" He said, before promptly inserting fifty rings into the machine.

After a few seconds, instead of a snack appearing, the stone tile beneath Tyco's feet suddenly dropped, revealing a hole full of blinding white light which he fell into. Speechless, Jade and Junior jumped in after him. All three managed to break their fall as they landed on a checkered plain full of red and blue rings, as well as several white bumpers with red stars on them. Before anyone could say a word, a neon sign appeared up in the psychedelic sky, baring the words: "RINGS OF BLUE, GOOD FOR YOU! RINGS OF RED, YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE DEAD!".

"I think they want us to run through the blue rings and not touch the red ones." Jade said.

"Well, if it means getting out of here, then so be it." Junior replied, immediately dashing through a series of nine blue rings arranged in a square.

However, much to his shock, the ring that he was about to run through next turned out to be red. He barely managed to jump over it without touching it at all and gave a sigh of relief.

"Looks like those rings turn red when you run through them." Tyco pointed out, "In that case, we'll have to be careful."

Junior nodded, and he and his comrades took off in various directions, intending to cover as much ground as possible. Before long, all the blue rings had been turned red, and everything in the arena disappeared in a harmless explosion of confetti.

"Okay? _Now_ what?" Junior asked impatiently.

"Look!" Jade called, pointing above the group.

A small white light appeared in the sky, and slowly fell into Junior's hands, where it revealed itself to be a fraction of a stone tablet with a currently unknown image on it.

"This must be a part of that tablet we were told about!" Junior said in awe, "I guess that means that legend is true after all!"

"And if that's the case, then finding all three pieces will lead us right to Eggman!" Tyco added, "On the downside, this little experience has officially made me swear to _never_ touch another vending machine for as long as I live!"


	7. Chapter 7: Truth and Tablet Fragments

Chapter 7: Truth And Tablet Fragments:

By the time Junior, Jade, Tyco, and Chuck made it to Angel Island, a beautiful sunset had blanketed the sky in warm, tranquil colors, and several stars could ever so faintly be seen scattered all around.

"Alright, me lads! This be yer' next stop!" Chuck announced, "An' I suggest you all head back to Christmas Island after ya' find the next piece. It's gettin' awfully late. Wouldn't want'cha to perish out 'ere."

"Good thinking, Great Uncle Chuck!" Junior replied.

"See you in a bit!" Jade called back as she hovered over onto the shoreline.

"Yeah, what _she_ said!" Tyco added, gliding across the short stretch of ocean, "Heh! Good thing that Master Emerald's gone! Makes getting onto this island a _hell_ of a lot easier!"

" _I'll_ say!" Junior replied, leaping across the gap, "I _knew_ Uncle Knuckles couldn't stay cooped up here forever! He's too much of a softie!"

"Hey! Hey! Watch what you're saying out here!" Tyco warned, "For all we know, maybe he's paying a visit to his old home and can _hear_ us!"

"Yeah, right!" Junior replied, "I meant a softie on the _inside_!"

"Mm-hmm. _Sure_." Jade replied snidely.

With that, the trio set off into the lush, tropical jungles of Angel Island Zone, occasionally stopping to kick a tripping hazard out of the way, duck under a branch, or simply admire their surroundings. Before long, they came across a massive clearing that did not look natural. The expanse was cluttered with dead, blackened trees, brown grass, and countless piles of ash dotting the scene. All of this was a result of a missile barrage that the original Dr. Eggman had launched on the island decades ago.

"Whoa! What happened _here_?!" Tyco asked in alarm.

"Whatever it was, Eggman _clearly_ didn't want anyone around!" Jade replied, "He must've destroyed this forest in retaliation or something! Hell, what if he might be _onto_ us?"

"Nah, I doubt it." Junior replied, inspecting one of the trees, "If this was recent, then there'd be smoke everywhere. But these trees look like they've been dead for a _while_. Besides, Dad once told me about the time when he and Uncle Tails had to run around on this island while dodging an onslaught of missiles... and _then_ went on a tangent about how Tails kept getting hit but somehow survived it all."

"Exposition to the rescue, once again." Jade replied, rolling her eyes as she continued to trek towards the trio's destination.

Junior and Tyco took a few more seconds to stay back and check out Jade's backside, adopting sly and very crooked smiles on their faces.

"Heh! If only she couldn't feel the telekinesis!" Tyco whispered.

"I doubt she would! Look at all that fat!" Junior whispered back, "Eh, just do it! She won't kill you for it, since you're an asset to this quest! C'mon, I'll bet ya' fifty rings!"

"Nah, I don't think so." Tyco replied as he continued to walk ahead as well.

"Wimp." Junior muttered under his breath as he jogged to keep up with his partners.

In just a few more minutes (which happened to be enough time for the sun to completely go down), the three arrived at the massive Master Emerald Shrine, slightly intimidated by the large number of stairs leading to the top.

"Welp, here goes nothing!" Junior said as he began to scale the pyramid-like shrine, finding the steep stairway surprisingly easy to climb.

The trio arrived at the very top after just five minutes more. Tyco pressed his index and middle fingers against his temples while Jade and Junior took a few seconds to admire the view.

"Strange." Tyco began, "The signal from the tablet piece is coming from the very spot where the Master Emerald used to be, but there doesn't seem to be anything here."

Junior cast a brief glance into the large, square cavity and his ears perked up as he saw a faint green twinkle inside. He stepped into the hole and (with some slight difficulty) removed a few small pieces of cracked rock, which gave way to reveal a small stone much like the one the group had acquired on South Island.

"Well damn!" Tyco replied with a face-palm.

"It seems that the emerald wasn't there just to keep this island in the air, but also to hide _this_ thing." Jade said.

"Rad! Wait 'till Uncle Knuckles hears about this!" Junior said excitedly.

Now with two out of three tablet fragments in their possession, the three heroes made their way back to The Ribbon Seal and hopped aboard, prompting Chuck to once again take the wheel and sail them all the way back to Christmas Island.

"Okay, land-lovers! This ol' cap'n's sailed enough fer one day!" Chuck announced after securing his vessel, "You three best head on back to yer gran'mother's and get some shut-eye! We can continue our search in broad daylight!"

"Sounds good to me." Junior yawned, "See ya' tomorrow!"

"Bye, Chuck!" Jade and Tyco added in unison.

After a half-hour walk, the trio arrived on Aleena's doorstep once more. By this time, it was 10:00pm.

"Hopefully she's not one of those old people who goes to bed at like, _six_!" Tyco said, ringing the doorbell.

To their relief, Aleena arrived at the door and adopted a warm smile when she saw who it was.

"Ah, you're all back!" She exclaimed, letting the group in, "How did your search go? Did you meet Uncle Chuck?"

"As a matter of fact, we did." Junior replied, "We also discovered that there's a stone tablet out there that can help us find a secret temple, which has a very high chance of leading us to Eggman. It's split into three fragments that were scattered all over this island-chain, but we already found two."

He showed her the two stone fragments.

"I take it Chuck helped you accomplish that?" Aleena asked, setting down a tray of four hot chocolate mugs as everyone sat down in the living room.

"Yup." Tyco replied, taking a large gulp of his cocoa, which was just cool enough to not burn his mouth, "We also did what you suggested and ended up learning a bunch about Buck's background."

"Apparently, he died while he was hunting for a legendary whale with Chuck. The legend said that the whale would bring good luck if they lured her in on the night of a full moon, but instead they tried to find her on the night of a _new_ moon." Jade explained, "So then a storm arrived and sent Buck flying to his doom."

"What?!" Aleena asked in disbelief, "I told you to ask him how my husband died, and _that's_ what he came up with?!"

"So... you're not buying it?" Junior asked.

" _No_ , I don't believe in those nautical fairy tales! In fact, it was your grandfather's fixation on them that resulted in him being mostly absent from Sonic's childhood, and ultimately weakened our marriage!" Aleena replied, appearing to be furious for a second before taking a deep breath, "Alright, sorry to say this, but I lied to you youngsters. I already know what _really_ happened to him, and so did Chuck, for he told me the _real_ story on the night of the incident. I sent you three out to visit him because I felt that he could tell the story better, but I should've _known_ that guy would try to maintain his ego by fabricating up a mess like that."

"Well, if Chuck was lying, then what _did_ happen to Grandpa?" Junior asked, setting his mug back onto the tray, which was still emitting steam despite being empty.

Aleena sighed.

"Fine. Here goes." She cleared her throat, "On the night of your grandfather's death, he was - as you said - out searching for a legendary whale with his brother. It was very stormy outside, and the waves were _extremely_ turbulent as a result. While they were parked off the coast of this island, something arose between them and they got into a heated argument that eventually turned violent. Blinded by rage, Chuck shoved Buck into the railing, but he accidentally shoved him too hard and he was sent reeling into the rough ocean. Even though our waters are very safe compared to the rest of the world's, that's only because of the high dolphin population. And since those guys were _obviously_ not out at that late hour, the sharks still managed to devour Buck alive. And what's worse, Chuck made _no attempts_ to save him, instead retreating back here to Christmas Island."

"Words fail me." Junior groaned angrily, his fists tightly balled on top of his thighs.

"I can't believe it!" Tyco said in alarm, "And he showed absolutely no remorse for it either?!"

"I'm _telling_ you, it's true!" Aleena replied, wiping a tear from her eye and sniffling slightly.

"Well, we believe you." Jade replied, resting her hand on Junior's left forearm, "Tomorrow, we're gonna have a little talk with him about what he's done. Mark my words."

A few hours later, both Aleena and Tyco retired to their bedrooms, leaving Junior and Jade as the only two who were still awake, both lying side by side on the futon.

"I... I honestly don't think I can sleep right now!" Junior growled, "I swear to God, Buck is gonna fucking _pay_ for that shit he pulled on Grandpa! _And_ for _deceiving_ us!"

"Don't worry about it. We'll make him talk." Jade replied determinedly.

"Or _actually_ , I've got a _better_ idea! How about we just ditch him and find that last tablet fragment _ourselves_?!" Junior suggested bitterly, "Tyco can detect its signal no problem, and all we really need the _boat_ for is to travel between the islands!"

"Junior, you _know_ why we can't do this without him." Jade replied.

"Yeah, well our Tornado-2 can sail, so we'll be just fine! _Anything's_ better than riding with that backstabbing asshole again!" Junior continued.

"Well he _did_ say that we'd have more difficulty sailing around here in the Tornado than in an actual boat." Jade explained, "You're seriously willing to pay that price _just_ because you don't wanna talk to Chuck?"

"That about sums it up." Junior replied.

"C'mon, Junior!" Jade replied, growing frustrated, "We have to at least _try_ to reason with him _first_!"

"Fine." Junior muttered in defeat.

"Trust me, we'll work something out. Tyco and I will be right at your side when it comes time to stand up to him." Jade replied, using one hand to grip Junior's, and using the other to pull him in.

Then, the hedgehog-bat hybrid did the very thing that nobody would expect to occur in this situation. She kissed Junior delicately yet passionately on the lips for a few seconds.

"That's a promise." She said after withdrawing her lips and smiling genuinely at him.


	8. Chapter 8: Courtship of Sonic's Father

Chapter 8: The Courtship of Sonic's Father:

The next morning, the trio woke up at a somewhat earlier part of the morning than previously, for the sake of wasting as little time as possible in completing the first chapter of their quest. Currently, they were walking along the outskirts of town to the docks once more.

"So, do you know what you're gonna tell Chuck?" Tyco asked.

"Do I ever!" Junior replied grumpily, "And I'll do whatever the fuck it takes to get the truth out of him, even if it means letting him suffer the same fate as his brother!"

"Look, Junior. I know you don't appreciate being lied to - hell, _nobody_ does - but you need to exercise at least _a little_ restraint. A _real_ hero doesn't just go around killing other people over something like _this_." Jade warned.

"But this isn't just some small, harmless fib!" Junior replied, "He promised to give me _a ton_ of information on _my_ background, which I myself know _little to nothing_ about - and not even my _own father_ will tell me for some goddamn reason! And he even _knew_ the true story, yet made it all up _anyway_!"

"I understand what you mean, but here's the thing. I don't agree with this principle whatsoever, and I wish people would stop resorting to it, but... sometimes people lie because the truth about whatever the event is can sometimes be painful. Maybe he was too ashamed of what he did? Maybe he was worried about how you would react if he told you the truth right away?" Jade explained.

"... Or maybe he was just trying to paint himself as some legendary sea captain, and fabricating stories like that just to feed his ego." Junior said grimly.

"Look, whatever his reason might be, the point is that you should at least hear what he has to say before you take action." Jade replied.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it." Junior replied, "But if he doesn't talk, he'll _never_ get the chance to make amends with Grandma!"

Before long, the three heroes arrived at the docks, where Chuck was busy cleaning the windshield on The Ribbon Seal. Jade and Tyco intentionally walked ahead of Junior to avoid starting the confrontation too early.

"Ah! Yer all back! Rearin' to go?!" Chuck asked excitedly.

"You bet!" Tyco replied.

"I've _been_ ready!" Jade added as she followed him onto the ship.

"Ahoy! Look alive, Junior! Ye' got a one-of-a-kind stone tablet to reassemble!" Chuck said as his great nephew slumped past him.

"I'll be fine." Junior replied quietly, following his partners onto the boat.

With that, Chuck took the wheel and sailed the trio out towards the signal from the final tablet fragment, which was emanating from somewhere on West Side Island. The boat ride took a good three hours, and when it was almost over, the hardened old captain looked over towards Junior, who was slouching alone in one of the seats closest to the steering wheel.

"Ey', ol' boy! We'll be hittin' land soon!" He told him.

"Leave me alone." Junior muttered.

"Oy! An' what be the matter with ya'? Ye' look sadder than a dejected razor clam with no shell on." Chuck replied.

"I _said_ , leave me the hell alone." Junior groaned again.

"Seriously, what's gettin' ya'?" Chuck asked.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK 'LEAVE ME ALONE' MEANS, YOU MURDEROUS, LYING BASTARD?!" Junior shouted as he stood up, his voice fading away quickly with nothing to ricochet from.

By this time, Chuck began to back his way over to the side rail of his ship as Junior slowly walked in his direction, looking as though he was about to throw down. As this happened, Tyco and Jade rushed to the back of the boat to view the commotion.

"Now, now, land-lovers! What's all this about?" Chuck asked, slightly intimidated at the sight of the three heroes staring him down.

"Don't play dumb with me, old man! _You_ know what you did!" Junior said sternly.

"An' what did yer great uncle do, eh?" Chuck asked.

"How about lying to your own great nephew about his background?!" Tyco chimed in.

"He came to you _specifically_ to learn about his past, and you intentionally deceived him!" Jade butt in as well, "So why'd you do it, huh?"

"I swear upon me sailor's heart! I told yeh' the truth!" Chuck said.

Junior rolled his eyes before nailing him in the face with a well-placed punch, sending him reeling into the wall of the boat. To follow up, he quickly walked over to his fallen ancestor and gripped him by the neck.

"Now, now, ye' wouldn't _really_ want to hurt yer' own great uncle, now would ya'?" Chuck asked, notes of worry in his voice.

"I adamantly _refuse_ to call a killer like you 'Uncle'!" Junior spat.

"Wh-What?! _K-K-Killer_?!" Chuck asked incredulously.

"Spare us your lies! Grandma told us _everything_!" Jade said.

"Don't you _dare_ tell us you've forgotten the story you tried to cover up and use for fame!" Tyco added.

"In fact, how _could_ you forget it?! You killed my grandfather!" Junior said, "So I'll ask you _one more time_ : what _really_ happened that night?! You've got a _few seconds_ to start fessing up, and you'd _better_ be truthful this time! Or else you'll be seeing him soon!"

Finally giving in, Chuck let out a sigh.

"No, Junior..." He started.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING _DARE_ TELL ME NO!" Junior screamed into his face as he raised his free hand and balled it into a fist.

"I... I don't know how else to say this, but... I _didn't_ kill yer grandfather." Chuck began, using one of his non-restrained hands to pick at a piece of skin on his left cheek.

The trio watched as he pulled off what turned out to be a fake shred of skin, revealing a large freckle on his cheek.

"I... _am_ your grandfather." He finished.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOO... Wait, what am I saying? That's _great_ news!" Junior said, releasing his hold on Buck's neck.

"Well! _That_ wasn't the reveal I was expecting!" Tyco said.

"Hold it!" Jade interrupted, "Just because Buck turned out to be alive doesn't mean he's innocent! He still killed your uncle, Junior!"

"It was within reason, I tell ya'!" Buck replied, massaging his throat as he climbed up onto the seat he had been pressed against.

"Yeah? How so?" Junior asked, his tan arms folded.

"Well ya' see..." Buck began, "The only truth within the lie I told ya' were the fact that the incident occurred while we were chasin' a myth out at sea. Ye' know, the albino orca that brings good luck when appealed to on the night of a full moon an' whatnot? Anyway, sometime prior to our expedition, I'd overheard Chuck speakin' to a colleague about that very legend. They came up with a plan to steal the treasure when we found it, usin' it fer fame an' profit, _an'_ to break away from me shadow. An' what's worse, they planned to simply ditch me at sea in the process. Typhoons of infuriation were a-thunderin' away inside me, but I resolved to keep me cool. _So_ , on the night of the treasure hunt, I decided to confront 'im over what I heard, tellin' 'im how he had violated the bro-code an' severed our promise to share the glory of all our accomplishments. However, he never gave in an' continued to fight back, leaving me with absolutely no choice but to end our partnership fer good."

By the time he finished his tirade, all three heroes had calmed down and were now sitting in seats on either side of him.

"Okay, that's all well and good." Junior replied, "But it _still_ doesn't explain why you concealed your identity after you did it."

"I was simply ashamed for killin' me brother. An' I didn't know which would be worse: tellin' Aleena that I killed me brother, or pretendin' to _be_ 'im an' fakin' me _own_ death?" Buck replied, "An' if yer wonderin' how I pulled it off, I simply covered up me freckle. It be the only physical difference between the two of us."

"Alright, well thanks for finally telling the truth, Grandpa." Junior said sincerely, "And now that you gave up your secret, I think you should go talk to her once we're done with the whole tablet thing. I'm sure she missed you a lot. And don't bother with that dramatic 'revealing the freckle' shit. Just outright tell her the truth."

"And freshening up before you do that would be your best bet." Jade added, "No girl likes it when a man tries to rekindle their love while smelling like sodium chloride."

"And finally, don't hide _anything_. Fess up to her like you did to us. Pretty sure you won't be held in a chokehold a _second_ time." Tyco chuckled.

"Well, what if she _doesn't_ accept me?" Buck asked, "Like the young lass just said, I am still guilty, even if I'm still alive. An' if she _does_ take me back, she'll surely force me into retirement. Me job is probably the _hardest_ thing fer me to give up with age."

"Well there are times in life where you'll have to make sacrifices. And even if she _doesn't_ let you back in, at least you'll have some closure for once. You should _at least_ keep your mind open to the idea." Junior replied, "... But enough about that! We've got a tablet to fix!"

In just a few more minutes, The Ribbon Seal dropped anchor off the coast of West Side Island, which thankfully was much closer to sea-level than South Island, making it easier to reach.

"Thanks again, Grandpa!" Junior called back as he leapt across the water.

"See you around!" Jade called back as she flew across.

"Yeah, what _she_ said!" Tyco called back as he followed his partners.

"I'll be waitin' 'ere as usual! Oh, and I'll definitely be considerin' what ya' said to me!" Chuck replied with a wave.

After a short trek, the trio came across the entrance to a massive cave within a sheer stony cliff.

"Sorry if either of you are afraid of the dark, but I'm afraid we have no choice but to go in there. It's where the signal is coming from." Tyco explained.

"Nah, we're good." Junior replied as he walked ahead into the dark unknown.

Inside the cavern, the group was pleasantly surprised to find that the cave walls were littered with countless lit torches, allowing them to take notice of the sheer number of thick, tangly vines that lined the interior, with some that were dangling precariously towards the stony floor. A wooden plaque had also been nailed to the wall, which read "Mystic Cave Zone".

"Well, uh, forget what I said about the dark. Let's... just keep going." Tyco said, proceeding deeper into the cave.

The trek through the interior of the cliff was rather uneventful, aside from the occasional gap that was easily crossed via a pre-installed wooden bridge, alongside the even rarer vine-wrapped lever that would activate one of said bridges.

"Hey, um, is anyone getting the feeling that something should attack us soon?" Jade asked somewhat nervously, "I mean, aside from those sparse Badniks in Green Hill Zone, and a few traps in Marble Zone, there hasn't been a single threat so far."

"Well according to recent statistics, the majority of this country's population is found back on Christmas Island, so maybe Eggman didn't _need_ to station as many troops elsewhere." Tyco replied, "And if they _are_ there, then they're being _awfully_ quiet. Maybe the people gave up easily during the takeover?"

"Who knows, really?" Junior asked, before the group suddenly stopped walking.

Directly in front of the trio was a seemingly immovable stone wall at the end of the wooden bridge that they had already crossed halfway.

"Really? A dead end?" Junior asked in annoyance, "And there weren't any alternate routes either!"

"Relax, guys. I think I just found the way out." Tyco assured his cohorts as he jumped upwards.

Junior and Jade watched as he proceeded to grab an overhanging green lever that was wrapped in vines. Even after he latched onto it, however, nothing occurred.

"Um, I think it needs a little more weight." Tyco said.

Junior nodded and jumped onto it too, finally weighing it down enough. Rather than removing the stony blockage from the trio's path, the lever ended up splitting the bridge in two, and sending Jade falling into a deep pit below the bridge with silver spikes along the bottom. Though she panicked at first, she retained her wits and used her wings to suspend herself above the spikes.

"Yeesh! _That_ was a close one!" She said, panting.

"Hey, um, since you're the only one who can fly indefinitely, do you mind searching down there for some way to reactivate the bridge?" Tyco asked, "Oh, and the signal is coming from that very pit, so there's that as well."

Jade nodded and continued to hover around until she spotted a hole in the wall, plenty wide enough to fit her arm into, but long enough that she could not reach the fluorescent green button inside.

"Alright, here goes!" She announced, "Chaos... LANCE!"

She fired a large energy projectile from her hands. It was about the same size as the hole, allowing it to fly through it without bumping anything. It hit the button successfully, thereby reactivating the bridge, though it also exploded, resulting in a massive hole in the wall it had been fired into.

"Whoa! There's a hidden room in here!" Jade said as she landed inside it, "And I can see why, too!"

By the time she flew back up onto the bridge, both Junior and Tyco had landed safely back onto it as well. Jade didn't hesitate to show them the final tablet fragment, which had been hidden behind the wall.

"Alright! That's all three of them!" Junior cheered, "Now we just have to find that temple, and Eggman will finally be cornered!"

The heroes did not hesitate to hurry back onto the ship, where they told Buck the good news. As they showed him the tablet fragments, they (much to everyone's shock) magically reassembled themselves into one piece, revealing a glowing lime-green picture that bore a very strong likeness to Sonic's 16-bit sprite. Following this, the group finally set out for Christmas Island and made it back within three hours.

"Alright, we're back!" Junior exclaimed, "Oh, and _this_ time, you're coming _with_ us!"

"Oh?" Buck asked uncertainly, "Why me?"

"Because _you're_ gonna make amends with my grandmother!" Junior replied, "Now c'mon! There's no more time to waste!"

Reluctantly, Buck (after tying up his ship) followed the trio back to Aleena's sky blue cottage, where Tyco immediately hurried over to ring the doorbell.

"Alright, you've got this, Grandpa!" Junior cheered him on, "Just sit here on the front porch until we're done talking to Grandma, then you'll come on out, and we'll leave you alone to have your moment!"

"I... I _think_ I understand." Buck replied nervously.

"You'll do great! I just _know_ it!" Jade replied.

Within the next few minutes, Aleena arrived at the door and greeted the heroes once again. For Buck, the sound of her voice brought back countless memories from several decades ago, and for a moment, he wasn't sure if he would be able to confess to her without reducing himself to an emotional wreck. He took a few quiet yet deep breaths to calm his nerves, before he heard Tyco say:

"We've, uh, found a special someone who you might wanna see. He's been _dying_ to see you again."

"Again?" Aleena asked, "Wait a second! You don't mean... !"

"Oh relax, Grandma!" Junior reassured her, "You _need_ to hear him out on this one! He stopped lying and even gave us some insight on _his_ side of the true story! He's clearly sorry for the things he did, and he misses you _a lot_! Will you please just let him talk?! For _me_?! Your long-lost grandson?!"

"Oh, alright. But if he starts telling those aquatic legends again, I swear... !" Aleena warned.

"Don't worry! He won't!" Jade replied, following her partners into the house in order to let the couple have their well-deserved privacy.

Buck took this gesture as his cue to slowly step into the lone porch-light right in front of the door. His aging heart began to beat almost as fast as Sonic could run, partially due to his affection for his long-lost wife, and otherwise due to extreme nervousness.

"Hello, Chuck. Came to tell me another oceanic fairy tale?" Aleena asked coldly.

"Er... no, Aleena. I'm not here fer that." Buck replied, taking a deep breath, "I, uh, wanted to say that I'm... sorry fer killin' me brother an' lyin' to yer grandson. I _really_ should've told 'im the truth from the get-go."

"Oh, _really_ now?! You're picking _now_ to apologize for your actions that were detrimental to _everyone in your family_?! And not only _that_ , but your only form of apology is a simple ' _sorry_ '?! As if that's going to compensate for the unforgivable things you've done!" Aleena replied, growing furious, "Heh, you're _damn lucky_ Junior had it in him to forgive you! Why, if you hadn't told _me_ the truth before you up and ran off, he'd grow up spouting incomprehensible nonsense about his past to his friends!"

"I understand, milady. I know there be no way to make up for me sins, an' I know that 'sorry' doesn't always cut it, but I _at least_ wanted to let ya' know that I have recognized the wrongs I have done, and 'ave always been thinkin' 'bout ya'." Buck replied calmly, "In fact, it so happens that I have _another_ confession to make."

"Pray tell." Aleena replied sarcastically, her ams folded.

"Your husband Buck... is not dead." Buck began, bringing his left hand up to his left cheek and peeling off some of the skin, once again revealing his iconic freckle, " _I_... am the man ye' lost."

"That... that freckle." Aleena replied in shock, "I... I'd know that _anywhere_! You mean you've been alive this whole time?!"

"I _told_ him not to do that shit!" Junior muttered as he peeked at the couple through the living room curtains.

"Indeed, me land-lovin' lass. It was actually _Chuck_ who bit the sea-sand." Buck replied.

The next ten minutes passed by, in which Buck explained to his wife the exact same confession story that he had told the heroes earlier. By the end, Aleena was sniffling and wiping away tears, leaning into his broad chest as he gently stroked her back with his toned arm that was tattooed almost completely with topless mermaids.

"So, me precious sea lily... " Buck proposed, "Will ya' forgive me?"

"Oh Buck, I... !" Aleena began, "Hah! OF _COURSE_ I WILL! I'VE MISSED YOU _SO MUCH_!"

"Really?! Ya' mean what yer sayin'?!" Buck asked excitedly.

"Absolutely! Now let's not dawdle any longer! I've still held onto our old bed after all these decades! And I haven't even washed the sheets since the last time you nailed me into the mattress!" Aleena replied, dragging Buck by the arm into the house.

The happy, elderly hedgehog let go of his hand in order to safely climb the stairs. Buck took the opportunity to glance at his grandson and his two comrades, who were all golf-clapping for him and giving him nods of approbation for his success at winning Aleena back over.

"Looks like _this_ 'ere cap'n be succumbin' to the _sirens_ tonight!" He said excitedly, "Thanks, chums!"

"Our pleasure!" Jade replied, watching him with a smile as he hurried upstairs.

"Speaking of pleasure, I'm sure glad I packed my ear-plugs!" Tyco said with a yawn, before teleporting upstairs.

"If those two get loud, I'm sleeping on the front porch tonight!" Junior groaned.

With that, everyone in the house got ready for bed, preparing for the next step in their quest that would commence tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9: The Saltwater Dungeon

Chapter 9: The Saltwater Dungeon:

Once again, Sonic Jr. and his friends woke up bright and early to squeeze in as much progress in their quest as they could before sundown. At the moment, they were busy scrounging through the marketplace in search of useful equipment for underwater travel, though due to the recent switch to communism, the options in terms of what they could buy were quite limited.

"Alright, so we'll _definitely_ need something we can use to stay underwater for a prolonged amount of time." Tyco noted, "And if we can actually fucking _find_ it somewhere, maybe some gear that will let us swim better could suffice."

"Aw, dammit! If I'd known we'd be looking for the emeralds _underwater_ , I would've packed my bathing suit!" Jade groaned in reply.

"Yeah. Kind of a shame." Junior replied instinctively, though he quickly slapped both hands over his mouth upon realizing what he had just said.

Thankfully for him, Jade did nothing more than roll her eyes. The trio continued to browse the stands for something to aid them in their quest, but to no avail.

"Well, uh, maybe we could just buy some Aqua Shields?" Tyco suggested, "They don't affect _swimming_ prowess all that much, but they'll _at least_ keep us alive and dry. Plus, they're _super_ cheap!"

"... And _that's_ for a _reason_ : they wear off after just _one hit_." Junior replied, "That emerald doesn't just _happen_ to be underwater - it was _taken_ there. And I'm at least 99.9% certain that it's being guarded. If we try to snag it with nothing but Aqua Shields as protection, we'd _never_ make it."

"Psst! Hey, strangers!" A voice whispered from behind the group.

All three heroes turned around to find a short, lanky man with frizzy black hair so long that it obscured half of his face. He reciprocated their eye-contact through slightly sunken gray eyes as he smoked on a thick, obviously homemade cigar.

"So! You're going on an underwater treasure hunt, huh?" The man asked with a chuckle, "Well, I think I just _might_ have what you need... if you're willing to _trust_ me, that is!"

"Really? That's great!" Junior replied.

"Er... I dunno if this is a smart thing to do!" Jade whispered into his ear, "We don't exactly _know_ this guy!"

"We'll do it!" Tyco answered in the place of the others.

After Jade rolled her eyes yet again, the trio followed him into an alley between a pair of marketplace stands. The man continuously swiveled his head around in all conceivable directions as he walked in order to make sure the group wasn't being followed. When they finally reached a dead end, he looked around once more before reaching behind a rusted green dumpster and pulling out a briefcase. He undid the two locks on the side and flipped it open, revealing a vibrant golden light that momentarily blinded the heroes before it died down. The contents of the briefcase included a set of three metallic blue earrings in the shape of brittle-starfish, alongside a few capsules containing Speed Shoes.

"Pretty neat, aren't they?" The man asked, revealing several white-gold teeth as he grinned slyly, "They're imports from Chun-Nan, and since this country's gone communist, you can probably see why I'm selling them in this manner."

"The, uh... Speed Shoes?" Junior asked hesitantly.

"Nope, but the earrings _are_. Not only will they keep your skin and clothes dry, but they'll _also_ let you breathe underwater indefinitely, and provide you with crystal-clear vision without the need for goggles. Oh, and don't worry - they're clip-ons." The man explained, "Now as for the Speed Shoes, my dealer... I-I mean _business_ partner was unable to find anything that would work similarly and permanently, so these were my only choice. Plus, I can't sell _only_ illegal things, am I right?"

"You raise a good point, there." Junior replied, shaking the man's hand, "Alright good sir, you've got yourself a deal! Name the price!"

"Two pans of pot-brownies." The man chuckled in reply, "Naw, just messin' with ya'. One hundred rings."

"Thank God my dad's a billionaire." Junior muttered under his breath as he pulled out a large ring that was worth one hundred of the smaller variety.

"Sold! Have a nice day!" The man replied with a smile as the heroes made off with their new equipment.

" _Hopefully_ , that'll be the _last_ time we get assistance from a black market salesman!" Jade said after the trio had left the village, "I guess _this_ time we were left with no choice, but... still."

"So what now? Do we just go find the temple?" Tyco asked.

"Not quite yet. _First_ , we need to get a general idea of where it is so we're not just blindly searching for hours on end and wasting time. Besides, those Speed Shoes we got will only last for so long." Junior replied, before he suddenly felt an odd sensation.

Wordlessly, he pulled out the completed tablet, which had suddenly begun to glow radiantly.

"Whaddaya suppose _that_ means?" Jade asked.

"Well, _maybe_ it signifies that... !" Tyco replied, before he was interrupted by a generic ringtone that emanated from somewhere.

He pulled out the Miles Electric and tapped the screen, which immediately cut to a live news report from the local network.

"Good morning, citizens of The Genesis Isles!" The newscaster announced, "In a sudden phenomenon, a massive lime-green light has suddenly appeared in our beautiful waters just off the western coast of Christmas Island, mystifying countless civilians and scaring a _few_ of them utterly shitless! Fortunately, nobody was harmed during the abrupt event, but all people have been cautioned to avoid swimming in the glowing portion of the water until proper investigations have been completed! That will be all!"

"Well, _that's_ a plot-convenience if I ever saw one." Jade noted.

"Tell me about it." Junior replied, "But _at least_ they're almost always useful whenever they occur! I guess that light appeared to signify that the key to the temple is nearby!"

"I suppose we should call Buck so he can take us out there?" Tyco asked.

"Nah, he just got back with his wife! We should let them _bond_ for a while!" Junior replied, "Besides, he _did_ tell us that the winds are only turbulent around the _other_ islands. We should be perfectly fine as long as we stick close to _this_ one."

Within a half-hour, the Tornado-2 (now back in its default form) was parked high in the air, and just outside the expanse of green light. All three heroes stood on the left wing, staring down at the seemingly bottomless ocean down below with determination and slight nervousness.

"Alright, I set the plane to hover inside the cloud-layer so it won't get towed again." Tyco stated, "We can jump whenever."

"Well, we could jump _now_ , if everyone's _ready_." Junior replied.

"All set!" Jade replied eagerly.

"Yeah, what _she_ said!" Tyco added.

"Welp, here goes nothing!" Junior cheered, "GERONIMO!"

Both Jade and Tyco watched as the young hedgehog (obviously showing off) performed a tuck before uncurling himself and staying upright, enabling himself to land in the water feet-first with a very minimal splash. After he popped back up and flashed a thumbs-up, they both jumped in after him. Tyco intentionally did a back-flop so he could watch the plane. Sure enough, the minute he leapt off its wing, the Tornado-2 gained a copious amount of altitude in order to hide itself among the clouds. Finally, all three heroes plunged underwater, able to breathe normally, see clearly, stay dry, and even speak amongst themselves due to the effects of the earrings.

"Okay, so we _obviously_ can't see through this light. In that case, we'll have to follow the signal." Tyco explained, "What say we activate these things _now_ so we can find the temple as quickly as possible?"

"I like the way you think, Tyco!" Junior replied, "Alright, on three! One... two... THREE!"

With that, all three heroes squeezed the capsules containing the Speed Shoes until they popped, causing their feet to sparkle.

"Alright, _quickly_ guys!" Tyco announced, "We've gotta dive deeper!"

Wordlessly, the others obliged and swam after him at a greatly enhanced speed. From that point on, Tyco continued to announce various directional commands until the signal grew exponentially stronger. Without warning, the blinding light around the group suddenly died down, allowing them to take in their surroundings. The ocean floor was covered in soft, white sand, and countless shipwrecks and rocks were scattered all over it for as far as the eye could see.

"Huh. I was _kind of_ expecting a vibrant coral reef, if I were to be completely honest." Jade said disappointedly.

"But more _importantly_ , check _this_ out!" Junior replied, prompting his comrades to swim towards him until they were on either side of him, " _This_ must be that _temple_ we've been looking for! I guess all that light died down in response to the tablet being in such close _proximity_ to it!"

"Yeah, I guess _so_!" Jade replied, before her eyes widened, "Hey! Look at those symbols!"

The three stared in awe and curiosity at the massive stone door before them. It was divided into three equally-sized segments arranged in a circle, with each one possessing an image that was glowing in the same color as the one on the tablet. Speaking of which, a small, rectangular slot was positioned right at the center portion of the door where all three sections met. However, the thing that intrigued our heroes the most were the images on the door itself. On the upper-left section was an enlarged image of what appeared to be a tadpole. On the upper right was a somewhat translucent sphere, and on the bottom was a liquor bottle.

"Hmm... tadpole... pearl... _liquor_?" Tyco questioned, eyeing the illustrations.

"I _think_ those are supposed to be a sperm and an egg." Jade replied.

"Wait! I remember Grandma told us about how she drank while she was pregnant with Dad and his siblings! And she _also_ mentioned how only _Dad_ suffered the effects of it! That _can't_ have just been a lucky occurrence!" Junior exclaimed, "So... does this mean that _my father_... was some kind of _legend_?! Who was _destined_ to be born and become a hero?!"

"And that image on the tablet looks _just like him_ as well!" Jade added, "... Or _at least_ the way he looked when he was _younger_!"

"Holy shit." Junior said, trying to calm himself down via a series of deep breaths, "I'm sorry, but _that's_ a lot to take in."

Meanwhile, Tyco was looking off to the left of the door and spotted a conspicuous hole in the bedrock wall, leading to a darkened cave.

"Hey! What's _this_?" He asked, immediately swimming towards it.

"Tyco, what are you doing?! We've got an _emerald_ to find!" Jade called after him.

However, Tyco did not listen and swam into the hole. His two comrades swam after him, but before they could enter the cave themselves, a tremor suddenly occurred and resulted in the entrance getting blocked by several hard-to-move rocks.

"Oh no! TYCO!" Junior yelled, "TYCO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

Meanwhile, inside the cavern, Tyco (who had almost completely ignored the tremor) found his way into a surprisingly open area with walls covered in bioluminescent algae, giving the room a dreamy, almost fantastical vibe. The thing that caught his eye the most, however, was a treasure chest right in the center of the floor, which he immediately made a beeline for. Slightly struggling to open it, he reached into the glowing interior and pulled out what appeared to be three platinum bracelets, each one possessing a flat ruby attached to it, which was cased in even more platinum.

"You have acquired the Current Anklets. Now you can indefinitely swim thrice as fast as you normally could, and freely use any special abilities you may possess while underwater." Tyco read from the note attached to the roof of the chest, "Okay then."

Without hesitation, he slipped one of the anklets onto his right ankle, thankful that it was able to slip on over the one he already had on (which helped to magnify his psychokinesis).

"I should probably get out of here and give these to the others! They could _definitely_ prove useful to _them_ too!" Tyco added.

Just as he was about to start swimming back towards the entrance to the cave, however, he heard another tremor, which wasn't quite as strong as the previous one, but enough to send some small rubble falling down from the ceiling.

"Okay, what was _that_?" He asked somewhat nervously, before continuing to swim.

Soon enough, however, yet another tremor occurred. The cat-hedgehog hybrid turned around to see that the now empty treasure chest had been overturned and slightly cracked from the impact, and a thick cloud of dust had appeared right behind its previous spot, alongside more rubble.

"Alright, this is _really_ starting to freak me out." He continued, "Alright, whoever's doing this, _please_ cut that shit out!"

He waited for a minute more, doing his best to enter a nervous fighting-stance while the underwater environment was preventing him from finding solid footing. His patience paid off, as another tremor occurred, and this time he could see the source. A long, jet-black tentacle with a midnight purple underside lined with blood red suckers appeared from the darkness behind the dust cloud and slapped the wall of the cave.

"Aha! Caught you in the act!" Tyco cheered, "Now! Care to explain your actions?"

As he spoke, he swam closer to the dust cloud, which finally had a chance to settle down, revealing a large, crimson eye with a mustard-colored sclera staring down at him.

"Er... _whoa_! _H-Hey_ there, uh, big fella!" Tyco said, almost at a complete loss for words.

Within a few more seconds, several lavender-colored photophores appeared all around the eye, alongside a midnight purple beak. The added light only allowed Tyco to appreciate the mysterious creature's immense size.

"Wait! WHAT THE FUCK?!" He exclaimed in a combination of shock and horror.

Suddenly, the creature swam upwards slightly and let out a loud hiss, baring its massive beak in Tyco's direction and revealing itself to be a humungous, predatory squid.

"Oh, _fucking shit_!" Tyco said, before he was forced to narrowly dodge a swing from one of its tentacles.

He let out a scream as he proceeded to swim as quickly as he could back to the cave's entrance, where he discovered to his horror that it had been locked. He nervously glanced behind him to see a tentacle continuing to pursue him through the tunnel.

Meanwhile, back outside, Junior and Jade were still hanging on the ocean floor outside the cave, waiting for Tyco to find a way out seeing how they had seemingly no way of finding another way into the cave he had ventured into. Suddenly, however, they both heard a series of muffled screams - a clear indication of just how terrified the victim was.

"Oh my God! What did he do?!" Jade asked worriedly.

"We're comin', Tyco! Just hang in there!" Junior yelled back as he proceeded to swim up to the blocked cave entrance.

However, before he could do anything, he found himself having to quickly swim away as the rocks were suddenly enveloped in a blue aura, before they were launched outwards. Before either he or Jade could comment, Tyco swam out in a panicked state and rejoined them. Behind him, the same tentacle briefly poked out of the cave and flailed around for a spell, before pulling back in.

"Guys! You're not gonna _believe_ what happened!" He started, pulling out the remaining two Current Anklets and showing them to his friends, "I found a chest in there that contained _these_! But right after I got them, some _squid_... thing appeared out of nowhere and almost _got_ me!"

"Really, now? You _seriously_ think we're gonna buy... ?!" Junior asked, before he was interrupted by a massive tremor.

All three heroes watched in horror as a large shipwreck right by the wall where the cave was began to shift around. Various spots of lavender light could be seen flickering through holes in its wooden planks, and a few black tentacles poked out from underneath. Without warning, the entire squid appeared, sending countless pieces of the wreckage flying out in all directions and revealing the entirety of its black and purple body, which appeared to be entirely robotic. Its eye shifted around for a spell before its pupil shrank upon noticing the heroes.

"THE HELL?!" Junior gawked.

"And _you two_ didn't _believe_ me!" Tyco snapped back.

The squid spread all its tentacles out and bared its beak as it let out another shriek.

"WAUGH! IT'S THE JAPANESE! _SWIM_ FOR IT!" Jade exclaimed as she and the others proceeded to swim away as fast as they could.

"Quick! To the temple!" Junior exclaimed, making a beeline for the door.

However, the squid outswam the trio and halted in front of the door, clearly intending to prevent them from entering. Before anyone could react, it extended a couple of its tentacles in an attempt to grab the heroes, but they all swam away as quickly as possible. With no choice but to try and lose the squid, they proceeded to maneuver through the countless shipwrecks and rock-formations in an attempt to trap it, though all attempts failed as the squid simply shrugged off everything that hit it. During one portion of the chase, Tyco managed to catch up to Junior and slip one of the remaining anklets onto his left ankle.

"Tyco, what are you... ?" He asked, only to get cut off.

"I'll explain later!" Tyco replied dismissively.

The trio continued to flee from their mechanical predator, and eventually came across a shipwreck much larger than the others. The interior of the ship was full of large containers, alongside many tight spaces and sharp turns, enabling the trio to increase the gap between themselves and the squid. When Junior and Tyco reached the end of the wreck, they found themselves hovering above a bottomless pit right off the edge of a drop-off into the open sea. They looked behind them to see Jade catching up, though her boot was abruptly caught in a frond of kelp that was poking through some loose planks of wood. She managed to untangle her foot, but by the time she did this, the squid had caught up with her and rammed through all the obstacles between himself and her. Jade let out a scream as she was grabbed by one of his tentacles.

"JADE!" Tyco and Junior exclaimed in unison as they hurried over to try and pry her free.

Jade herself struggled to pry herself out. She briefly glanced behind her to see that the squid's massive break was getting ever closer to her and was wide open, revealing countless buzz-saw blades inside it. The only thing that was barely keeping her from getting shredded was the pulling from both of her cohorts. Eventually, Tyco proceeded to use his telekinesis to grab Jade and attempt to force her out of the squid's grip, which worked slightly more effectively, though much resistance was provided by the tentacle.

"Junior!" He said as he struggled to hold his concentration, "That anklet can let you use your powers underwater! I think you may need to take advantage of that now!"

Junior nodded and used a couple of homing attacks to try and loosen the squid's grip, but it hardly worked. Not even landing a direct hit in its eye did much to help. Finally, Tyco used his telekinesis to pull Jade in a random direction, while using his free hand to charge up a fireball. With Jade out of the way, he aimed right for the squid's hungry beak.

"Junior! Get down!" He yelled.

Junior obeyed him and swam down onto the ocean floor just as the massive fireball was launched right over his head, somehow not extinguishing due to the surrounding water. The projectile hit its mark perfectly and caused the machines within the squid's body to malfunction as several sparks and a thick cloud of smoke flew out of its beak. Its body jerked around erratically and its tentacles flailed around in a similar manner, allowing Jade to safely swim away. With one final pull from Tyco's psychokinesis, the entire shipwreck and the squid (who was trapped inside it) were launched off the cliff and sent plummeting into the dark depths of the ocean, the smoke cloud trailing behind them as they fell. All three heroes were panting slightly.

"Gee whiz! How many close calls are we gonna _have_ on this adventure?!" Jade asked.

"I dunno. But hopefully, we don't have any more that are _quite_ as close as _this_ one." Junior replied.

"Well hey, _at least_ we got some nifty new _gear_ out of this!" Tyco replied, pulling out the last remaining Current Anklet, "Here, Jade! Put this anklet on! It'll let you swim faster and use your powers underwater with as much skill as you can on land!"

"Why didn't you give me this thing _sooner_?!" Jade asked as she slipped it on.

"Well, we _obviously_ couldn't while we were being _chased_." Tyco replied.

Within a few more minutes, the team made their way back to the temple's entrance. Now free from any more inconveniences, Junior inserted the tablet into its slot on the door, which caused all four images to glow in a radiant lime-green sheen. Finally, all three sections of the door gave way to reveal a dark tunnel, simultaneously causing a strong, inward current to form, which sucked our heroes into the bowels of the temple, screaming as they were tossed around uncontrollably.


	10. Chapter 10: Raiders of Lost Emerald P1

Chapter 10: Raiders Of The Lost Emerald (Part 1):

After a good five minutes, Junior, Jade, and Tyco continued to ride the underwater rapids through a winding, pitch dark tunnel until a spontaneous light appeared above. Just as this happened, the waters grew stagnant, allowing them to swim upwards. All three heroes broke the surface and climbed out of the round, stone-rimmed hole they were in. The room where they ended up was constructed entirely out of navy-blue granite with flecks of ivory and salmon-pink. The occasional sheet of metal was bolted in a random spot in order to hold the more crumbly portions of the structure in place. Decorating the walls were countless lime-green engravings that resembled 16-bit sprites of various items and characters, and seemed to glow eerily.

"Ugh! I don't know _how_ I'd react if I saw another tentacle!" Jade said worriedly.

" _Believe_ me! What happened out there wasn't _shit_ compared to what our _parents_ have gone through... in the minds of the _fandom_ , that is!" Tyco replied.

"Well, I guess the legend was true _after_ all!" Junior said in awe, blatantly ignoring the comments made by his friends, "There really _is_ a temple hidden underwater!"

"I _still_ can't get over the fact that Uncle Sonic is apparently some legendary hero!" Jade groaned, "Meanwhile, _my_ father became a legend because of his past as an _antihero_ , and _your_ dad is only famous because he comes from the _future_!"

As she said the second part of her sentence, she pointed in the direction of Tyco, who glared daggers at her in response.

"And it seems that the rumored treasure was _also_ down here... albeit already _claimed_." Junior continued, eyeing the scattered and empty treasure chests all around the group, "Anyways, _I_ think we've dawdled _enough_! What say we go scramble some Eggman?!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Tyco replied eagerly.

"Agreed." Jade replied, "But Junior, if you're seriously trying to become as famous as Uncle Sonic, _I'd_ suggest you not reuse his one-liners!"

"I'll do what I can! Now let's move!" Junior replied as the three pressed onward into the hallway.

Said hallway was the only way for the trio to go, aside from swimming back through the tunnel they had just exited. The arch leading into it had the words "Welcome To The Temple Of Genesis" engraved along it in all caps, in the same fluorescent green as the countless engravings that they had already laid eyes upon. All three heroes stared in awe at the wall to their left, where a row of three large, circular mosaics was present. The first of which simply depicted Sonic (sporting his early 90's design) running in place, with a plaque below it that read "1991" on it. The next of which showed him being carried by Tails, with its respective plaque reading "1992". Finally, the third mosaic showed the two posing with Knuckles, with its plaque reading "1994". It was then that Tyco glanced over to his right, and his golden eyes widened instantaneously.

"Whoa, guys! Check _these_ out!" He exclaimed, hurrying over to the opposite wall as the others followed him.

Just like with the previous wall, there were three mosaics, though these ones lacked the plaques underneath. The mosaic that was closest to the entrance showed a Super Nintendo, while the second one depicted Sonic posing next to a Sega Genesis. The third and final piece of artwork then showed Sonic squaring off against Mario, which greatly intrigued the heroes.

"Okay, so the _first_ wall makes sense, but what the hell is up with _this_ one?!" Jade asked.

"Beats _me_." Junior replied, "We'll just have to ask Dad later! But for now, we've got work to do!"

The other two nodded and followed him to the end of the hallway that they had not explored yet. At the end, the walls and floor around them were no longer made of stone, and were now entirely silver and metallic. The massive, cylindrical room they had arrived in contained exactly a dozen high-tech doors (some glowing green, others glowing red), divided up into three floors with the first being the very floor that they were standing on. The second and third floors were made of translucent pink metal, and were shaped in such a way that anyone careless enough to trip could fall all the way down to the bottom of the room. Dotting the walls of the interior were several windows with water on the outside, home to various species of ocean life that was clearly being held captive. What caught the heroes' eyes the most, however, was a much larger door. It was among the four that were situated on the third floor, and was framed with gold in the shape of a gear, while also baring a jet-black Eggman emblem on it, and glowing red, not unlike a few of the other doors in the room.

"I take it that _this_ is where the temple ends, then?" Tyco inquired, "If so, then _I've_ just found _another_ fucking reason to hate this asshole! He destroyed a priceless landmark!"

"Well _we're_ gonna put an end to _everything_ he's done! Right, team?!" Junior asked in reply.

"Right!" Jade replied, "But, uh, the question _is_ : where do we look _first_?"

"Good question." Junior replied, as he and his partners proceeded to think for a few moments.

"Er... how about we try _that_ one?" Tyco asked, pointing at a random door.

"What makes you so sure?" Jade asked in response.

"Not only do my psychic powers allow me to detect _signals_ , but I can also determine the ideal route to take in order to _reach_ that signal." Tyco explained, "For instance, I can tell that the Chaos Emerald is behind that large door at the top, but since we can't just go straight there, I've deduced that the door I just selected yields the highest chance of getting us closer to our ultimate goal."

Both Junior and Jade simply scratched their heads in unison.

"Ugh! Nevermind! Just follow me!" Tyco replied, hurrying over to the door he had previously picked.

As the trio made their way over to the green door, little did they know that a mechanical octopus about the size of a small car was slowly sneaking up on them. The robot sporadically folded up its body and tentacles into an odd shape in order to blend into its surroundings and conceal itself, before turning crimson red again and scuttling along the ground, walls, or ceiling for a spell. Meanwhile, inside the new room, the trio found themselves inside a considerably darker room with a massive window on each side. They watched in curiosity as a long line of various sea creatures swam into one end of a large machine, before each animal came out the other end as a robotic version of its former self.

"Oh crap! No _wonder_ the seafood industry's been crashing!" Jade exclaimed, "Eggman's been kidnapping all the animals and _roboticizing_ them!"

"Heh! _That_ sounds familiar!" Tyco added cheekily.

"That's animal cruelty if _I_ ever saw it!" Junior added angrily, "My question _is_ , though: what role would _this_ play in his evil scheme?!"

" _Whatever_ it is, we'd better hurry! Some of these species can _only_ be found around these islands, and we _can't_ let them go extinct!" Tyco replied.

Without wasting a second more, the trio continued on through the room until they reached a circular portion of it. There were no doors to be seen, but the even smaller amount of light made it impossible if any were truly there. All three heroes looked around, with Tyco in particular spotting several stone torches situated in random spots. Without a word, and with nothing but a cocky smirk on his face to accompany his gesture, he charged up a massive fireball. His comrades felt the hot air suddenly hitting them, and were taken by surprise.

"Tyco! What are you dong?!" Jade asked.

"Just trying to light this place up!" Tyco replied.

"Are you insane?!" Junior asked, "You might accidentally... !"

Tyco ignored both of his partners and shot the fireball upwards, before using his other hand to release a small, quick blast of psychic energy, which split the massive projectile apart as several smaller fireballs rained down towards the ground. Though the three of them had to dodge a few that landed on the ground, all eight torches along the walls were lit, finally illuminating the room. The numerous projectiles that didn't land on the torches merely hit the floor, leaving behind nothing more than black smudges at their points of impact. Before anyone could comment on the spectacle, a binging sound could be heard briefly, before a round portion of the floor in the center of the room lit up in a lime-green sheen. Soon, the panel split in half and what appeared to be a mechanized treasure chest rose from the hole.

"What the hell was _that_?" Junior asked, scratching his head.

"I guess it was some sort of mechanism." Tyco replied, strutting over to the chest, "Then again, I kinda' saw it coming, what with the whole psychic thing and all."

"The question _is_ , though: why would Eggman have such complicated puzzles set up just to navigate around his base?" Jade asked.

"Well, _you_ know how evil geniuses work! Their plans are _never_ straightforward! They _always_ feel the need to make things complicated, not just for _themselves_ , but _also_ for their _enemies_!" Junior replied, " _Probably_ best not to question their mindsets."

"Nah, I wouldn't be so sure." Jade replied, "Maybe these aren't just pointless complications, but possibly traps?"

"Possibly, but not _this_ one!" Tyco replied, bending over the now opened chest.

He reached inside and pulled out what appeared to be an everyday memory card. On the inside of the chest's lid was a note that read "You've acquired the Dungeon Schematics! Download this to any mobile device, and you'll be provided with a clear knowledge of this building's interior!". Without a word, Tyco inserted the memory card into an unoccupied slot on the Miles Electric, where the home-screen was immediately occupied by a detailed digital map of the temple that the group was in.

"Well _this_ is convenient!" He said, "Looks like we _may_ be able to get around here a bit more easily!"

"You can say _that_ again!" Junior replied, "So where should we go next, o great topographer?"

"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything else in _here_. So why don't we try _another_ door?" Tyco replied.

Heeding his advice, the group left the room and reappeared in the foyer of the mechanical dungeon.

"Alright, so this map tells us what room is where, but it doesn't say where exactly we should be heading. ... I mean, it shows us where to find _Eggman_ , but how to actually _reach_ him? Nuh-uh!" Tyco explained, "So I guess we'll still need to use my psychic ability to determine the best route."

"Fair enough." Jade replied, "After all, an adventure's no fun if it's too easy!"

"Fucking hypocrite." Junior muttered in response.

"... And my sense is telling me that our next stop should be _this_ way!" Tyco said, heading over to the only door on their level that was glowing red.

Jade and Junior watched as he tried to open it, but the door stayed firmly shut, only buzzing in response to his actions.

"Looks like it's locked." He said, "I guess we'll have to find a key first. But with my senses pointing me into _this_ room, I'm afraid we'll have to search the _old-fashioned_ way."

"Okay, but no splitting up! We don't know _shit_ about this place!" Junior replied.

"Good idea." Tyco replied, "So this map _also_ shows us what rooms we've been to, so that _does_ narrow things down for us, if only slightly."

With that, the trio headed for the adjacent door (which was thankfully unlocked) and entered it. Inside was yet another open space, but this time, there was another hallway stretching off of it. As they stepped into the rounded room, they made notice of several brightly-colored metallic objects lying around, which appeared to be deactivated robots. Down the aforementioned second hallway was a floor covered in countless spikes aside from a lone tile right at the beginning. The walls on either side were spiked as well, and a sleek, black, metal bar with a row of green LED lights on it was outlining the beginning of the hallway. At the far end, a patch of safe flooring was present, containing another mechanized chest that caught the heroes' eyes and was considerably larger than the previous ones.

" _That_ must be something important!" Jade said, "And it seems that only _I_ can get to it!"

Before anyone could respond, all the deactivated robots suddenly woke up, revealing themselves to be an Egg Knight riding atop a Motobug, accompanied by a trio of Slicers.

"Well it looks like you'll have to hurry, then!" Junior replied, he and Tyco dropping into a fighting stance.

Jade nodded and began to fly above the spiked floor, though as soon as she flew past the row of green lights, said lights soon turned red and a siren began to blare. Suddenly, a transparent red glass wall appeared from the ceiling, effectively separating her from her team. And right afterwards, a square hole in the metal ceiling opened up and an EggRobo dropped out of it, hovering in place and pointing its handgun at Jade, its eyes glowing a sinister shade of red.

"Jade! Hurry!" Tyco called after her.

Jade barely avoided a blast from her adversary and proceeded to fly as quickly as she could through the hallway, the siren still blaring and the walls slowly closing in on her. Back outside, the other two were busying themselves fighting off the robots, also experiencing a bit of a challenge. Tyco tried to use the Slicers' projectiles against them, only for them to swiftly dodge the counterattacks. To make matters worse, the Motobug that was carrying the Egg Knight was constantly speeding around the arena in an attempt to ram the heroes, with its rider attempting to slash at them with its lance. Just when they thought that things were not getting anywhere, Junior proceeded to run around one of the Slicers in rapid circles, making it dizzy, before he boosted through it and sent it reeling into the Motobug, thus destroying them both.

Tyco finally managed to hit the remaining Slicer with its own projectiles by faking it out, and used his telekinesis to throw its damaged body into the Egg Knight, who effortlessly slashed through it. It attempted to literally take a stab at Tyco, though its lance was caught in a similar manner, and it was distracted as it dodged the attacks that were now being dealt with it. This gave Junior the opportunity to land a homing-attack on its back, which in turn allowed Tyco to impale it with its own lance. When the fight was finally over, the two were taken by surprise as the Egg Knight's remains blew up, causing a treasure chest to rise up from the ground like the last one. Junior proceeded to open it and pulled out what appeared to be a red and white credit card with a black Eggman logo on it.

"You've acquired a Small Keycard! Use it to unlock any door that is glowing red! Keep in mind that it can only be used once!" He read the note aloud.

"Welp, I guess we have what we need! I'm sure Jade survived anyhow!" Tyco replied, "Let's head back to the main hall!"

"Ugh! Of _all fucking times_ to be claustrophobic!" Jade whined as she sped up and continued to dodge the projectiles.

The EggRobo continued its hot pursuit, firing from its arm-cannon and swerving around the Chaos Spears that were sent its way. Suddenly, the flying mech sped up and nearly caught up with Jade, who yelped as she was simply unable to fly any faster than she already was. After that felt like an eternity, she finally reached the end of the hallway and landed safely, though the robot was still approaching fast. In desperation, Jade unleashed a screw-kick, which knocked it backwards, where it was crushed by the walls. With that out of the way, she opened the chest. Inside was a note.

"You have acquired the Steel Anklets! With just a light tap from your finger, they enable your shoes to transform into the Steel Sneakers! With this accessory activated, any attacks that involve your feet will be doubled in power, and you can also walk along any magnetic surface. You will also be weighed down just enough so you can walk on the bottom of any body of water, but they're still light enough that you can run as fast as you can on land... unlike a certain Nintendo item!" Jade read the note aloud, before pulling a set of three silver anklets out of the chest.

Realizing that the route she had just taken was blocked off, she simply shrugged and (after slipping one of the anklets onto herself) exited the nearby green door. She reappeared in the main sector, where she spotted her partners standing outside the door opposite to hers.

"Great work, Jade!" Junior exclaimed, "And it looks like you've _found_ something!"

"You bet your _ass_ I did!" Jade replied, "Here, you two! Put these anklets on! They'll let you dish out stronger kicks and walk underwater, and all you have to do is tap them with your finger!"

"Neat!" Tyco exclaimed in reply.

Without a moment to lose, the trio hurried over to the only red door on the first floor and scanned the newly acquired card in order to unlock it, causing it to glow green. Inside the door was nothing more than a short stairwell that led one story up.

"I was _kind of_ expecting an elevator, what with the whole _technology_ theme going on here." Junior admitted.

" _I'll_ say!" Tyco replied.

Soon enough, the group arrived on the second floor, where they were greeted by four doors. This time, though, only one of them was unlocked. With no other choice, they entered it, only for it to suddenly lock behind them.

"Shit!" Junior called out in alarm.

"You _really_ couldn't use that powerful mind of yours to find _another_ route?!" Jade asked angrily, "Preferably one without _traps_?!"

"Chillax, guys! I'm sure we can find a way outta here!" Tyco replied, calmly walking deeper into the room.

In another minute, all three had stepped into the center of the circular room, which was connected to the patch of ground in front of the door by a short stretch of flooring. All other areas of the room were flooded with water, and right as the heroes all stepped into the center, the small bridge tucked itself back into the wall, leaving them floating atop the deep, circular trench.

"Crap! And it looks like that was our only way out!" Jade groaned.

"Well, we can't just give up like this. My senses led us here, so there's _clearly_ something important here." Tyco replied.

Without warning, a large skylight appeared in the ceiling, revealing a projection of a night sky with a full moon on it. Before anyone could question this, the entire chamber began to tremble as a deep whale-call echoed throughout it, sounding extra loud as it reverberated off of the walls in the compact room.

"Oh shit, what the fuck was _that_?" Junior asked nervously after the noise died down.

"Not sure." Tyco replied, sounding as though he was about to panic.

"Well we can't stick around to find out, now _can_ we?!" Jade asked sarcastically, "Oh, right! It seems we _can_! After all, we _are trapped_ in here!"

"Will you quit your damn whining, already?!" Tyco asked, "Besides, if you so badly want to get out of here, then your best option will be to swim! The signal's coming from the bottom of this chamber!"

"Fine! If you insist!" Jade replied, stepping over to the edge of the platform.

Right as the toe of her right boot grazed the water's surface, the portion of the water below her suddenly lit up in a shade of lavender. She recoiled her foot just in time as a large albino orca suddenly breached the surface and leapt high into the air before splashing back down into the water, creating strong waves that rocked the very platform that the trio was standing on.

All three heroes adopted expressions of shock as they all dropped into a fighting stance, carefully watching the whale circle around them before finally stopping in place and poking her head above the water's surface - nearly bumping into them as she leaned inwards against the ledge. The group could see that her ivory-colored body was covered in many dark red scars, and one of her pinkish eyes was obscured by a large, metallic silver ring with a fluorescent purple lens inside it - the skin surrounding it looking quite flushed, inflamed, and sore, and with several veins bulging outwards disturbingly. Every time the lens flashed, a shot of glowing, purple energy was pumped into the whale's bulged veins and could be seen traveling throughout her body fairly quickly. As the whale opened her mouth to take in some oxygen, she provided a view of her teeth, which were mostly normal-looking for a killer whale, though some were replaced with gold, and others replaced with diamonds.

"Dad was right! Whales _do_ have it out for hedgehogs!" Junior gulped.

"Wait a minute! ... Scars? ... The pink eyes?" Tyco thought aloud.

"What are you talking to yourself for?! We _need_ to get past this thing, or else we'll _never_ find that oh so special trinket you won't shut the fuck up about!" Jade snapped him out of it.

"But... how are we gonna fight this whale if she can't even come out of the _water_?!" Junior asked.

"Well maybe we _can_ fight her in the water!" Tyco assured, "Could be a decent test-run for our new equipment!"

"Alrighty then, you blubbery bitch!" Junior taunted, "You willing to let us pass, or will we have to leave you to a fate even worse than anything _Sea World_ could muster?!"

The whale simply let out another whale-song in response, once again causing the entire room to vibrate.

"I'll take that as a ' _no_ ' then, alright?" Junior replied, before taking off and boosting across the water around the perimeter of the platform.

As he neared the whale, he jumped right over her and managed to land before she could catch him in her jaws. She proceeded to chase after him and leapt into the air at the same time as he did. This time, however, Junior kicked off of the wall and used a homing-attack to knock her back down to the water's surface, where she landed face-up, exposing a larger and much more fresh scar on her stomach. Right after he landed on the platform, Jade flew above the stunned mammal and tapped her Steel Anklet, transforming her shoes and halting the movement in her wings as she dropped right onto the whale's abdomen, causing her to cough up a gallon of cranberry-colored blood (and an unusual object, which flew into the water) and chirp in agony, before reorienting herself. Before she could get completely right-side-up, Tyco took the opportunity to jump into the water to begin his search for the treasure he just knew was in the room somewhere.

As soon as he hit the water, he tapped his anklet and began to move along the floor of the water tank, making sure to maintain a level of stealth so the whale wouldn't spot him as she swam around. However, he soon realized that the area around him was far too deep at his current depth, and thus deactivated his Steel Sneakers in order to gain a bit of altitude. Once he swam upwards for a short time, however, he stopped again, remembering that if he swam too high, he would increase the probability of getting spotted. He reactivated his sneakers once again and resorted to firing off short bursts of psychic energy at nothing, using the brief flashes of light to illuminate his way, for he knew that using his pyrokinesis would instantly expose him.

Eventually, Tyco managed to spot the chest he was looking for, but as soon as he did, Junior and Jade managed to land a second blow to the whale's weak spot. This caused even more blood to dye the water and also allowed her to see Tyco sneaking around right below her.

"Uh-oh!" He said, immediately deactivating his sneakers so he could reach the chest more quickly.

As soon as she reoriented herself, the whale let out a shriek and plunged towards her singled-out foe at full speed, leaving a thick, lingering trail of blood as she swam. The reddening water had an effect on Tyco's visibility, leaving him nearly helpless as he continued to swim, eventually becoming completely disoriented and losing sight of his destination - a disadvantage that the whale did not have due to her echolocation. On top of this, the scent of the blood compelled a school of roughly three dozen hungry Choppers to swim out of nowhere, providing yet another threat to the success of the heroes' mission.

"What the fuck is happening down _there_?!" Jade asked incredulously.

"Not sure, but we've gotta save Tyco!" Junior replied, swan-diving into the water, which by now was over-saturated with blood.

Jade leapt after him, but quickly stopped herself and landed on the platform in order to plan her next approach. Beneath the surface, both Junior and Tyco were practically helpless as they swam around in the crimson waters, using homing-attacks and telekinesis respectively to dispose of any Choppers they came across. Said robots, as well as the whale herself, were constantly swimming around at a fairly high speed, making navigation even more difficult. Eventually, Junior came across another faint silhouette and spin-dashed into it, only for the target to yelp in pain.

"Tyco?!" He asked cautiously, swimming in the direction where his target had been sent flying.

"Yeah, it's me!" Tyco replied, once Junior had finally caught up with him.

"Sorry about that! You alright?" Junior asked.

"I'm fine, but I can't see _shit_ with all this _blood_ in the water! And I'm unable to use my tracking ability while it's detecting too many dangers at once!" Tyco explained.

"Well, we'll have to stick together and find it ourselves!" Junior replied, before the chamber shook violently once more.

The whale sang once more, alerting the pair to her location. They could make out a faint silhouette in her shape and immediately swam towards it. Junior proceeded to take out all Choppers in the way with some homing-attacks while Tyco swam close behind him, simultaneously charging up a fireball. He then swam out of the way quickly as the massive projectile was launched, sending the whale reeling into the wall and briefly lighting up the area around them. However, the minute the fire died down, it left behind a large amount of smoke that began to cloud the water. Tyco didn't stop, however, and started dispensing several more fireballs at the now alerted Choppers, though all this did was reduce visibility even more. Jade suddenly poked her head beneath the surface.

"GUYS! KNOCK IT OFF!" She shouted through the water, "You're only gonna make things _worse_ for yourselves! That whale's still around, and now you'll have no way of seeing her!"

"Well then what are we _supposed_ to do?!" Junior called back, before yet another whale-call echoed throughout the room.

"I've got an idea! Just come back up here!" Jade replied.

Within a few more minutes, Junior and Tyco arrived back up on the platform, letting out sighs of relief as they were now out of harm's way for the most part.

"Alright, you two! Just stay put, and I'll be right back!" Jade said.

Tyco and Junior looked at each-other as they watched Jade jump into the blackened water herself. Within a few seconds, however, the two noticed a bright red glow coming from beneath the surface, before an explosion took place, destroying all of the Choppers, damaging the whale, and almost completely draining the tank.

"Whoa!" Tyco exclaimed as he looked over the ledge.

"Guys! NOW!" Jade called up to them.

"I've got this!" Junior replied as he activated his Steel Sneakers and jumped feet-first towards the floor.

Right as he was about to land on the stunned, beached whale, however, he noticed her body suddenly get engulfed in an electrical purple aura, causing her to shriek and wriggle out of his point of impact. The trio watched cautiously as she continued to sing in pain, unbeknownst that the robotic octopus from earlier was spying on them from the ceiling.

"Geez, what are you letting them _do_ to you?!" An unknown voice asked from inside the massive head, "Gah! No time for questions! Just hurry the hell _out_ of there!"

A white-gloved hand pressed a button, opening a manhole on the floor of the drained body of water, which the whale promptly hopped into, almost as if she had been ordered to. The manhole closed as soon as she entered it, preventing the heroes from pursuing her.

"Well... _that_ happened." Tyco said, "But at least we can explore this room _safely_ now!"

"Who said anything about _exploring_? I can see it right _there_!" Jade replied, pointing to a mechanized chest sitting in a small alcove in the wall.

Junior quickly sped over to it, opening its to reveal its contents - another small keycard. At the same time, Tyco found an identical object lying in the ankle-deep water.

"This must be that weird object she coughed up." Jade noted, "Gotta say, though. Part of me _does_ feel a little bad for beating up that _whale_."

"Agreed. But first things first, let's get out of here." Junior said.

With that, Jade proceeded to carry both of her teammates back up to the door, which had unlocked automatically after the enemies in the room were disposed of. Back in the hallway, both keys were used on the remaining two doors on the second floor. One of which contained the stairwell to the third floor, while the other (which they had opened first) was nothing more than a dead end with a handful of Badniks. When they reached the third and final floor, the massive door that presumably led to Eggman loomed directly ahead of them, and the two other doors were already unlocked. Seeing how the largest door could not be unlocked, the trio searched through the other two rooms, but they simply contained dead ends and ambushes from Badniks.

"Well, it looks like that tracking ability of yours isn't really all it's cracked up to be, huh?" Jade asked sarcastically.

"No, it's not that." Tyco replied, "But it seems to be pointing us _away_ from the door, when logically that wouldn't make sense. We've already checked every single room on the first two floors."

"Well, we haven't checked _everywhere_." Junior replied.

"What do you mean?" Tyco asked, before he followed Junior's pointed finger down towards the center of the first floor.

Down on the floor was something that none of the heroes had noticed when they first entered the temple: a circular glass panel with nothing but deep water and a school of yet-to-be-roboticized fish beneath. Just as he noticed the tank, Tyco's head received a sharp tingle.

"There! There it is!" He exclaimed, pointing at the tank as well.

"So the key we need is hidden inside a giant fish tank? ... Oh, wait. That's... not really surprising, considering what we just went through." Junior replied, "Welp, I guess I know what to do _now_!"

Before anyone could stop him, Junior activated his Steel Sneakers and jumped down off the third floor. Sure enough, he landed right onto the lid of the tank, shattering it and causing some of the saltwater and fish below to splash upwards onto the floor. Now inside the tank, he deactivated his sneakers and swam around aimlessly, spin-dashing through a few Choppers along the way until he found a very large chest. After opening it, he reached in and pulled out another keycard, though this one was roughly twice the size of the ones that they had previously gathered, and had a black and yellow color-scheme with a red Eggman logo on it.

"You have acquired the Boss' Keycard! The only method of accessing the door to the boss' private sector of the building!" Junior read aloud, before proceeding to swim back up towards the first floor.

Before long, he had reunited with his teammates as they stood somewhat apprehensively in front of the massive door.

"So! Are you guys ready?" He asked, "Cuz' as far as _I_ know, the only thing between Eggman and us... is this very door."

"I've _been_ ready!" Jade replied, "He has a _lot_ to answer for! Taking over these islands, crashing the seafood industry, and abusing the power of that Chaos Emerald!"

"Yeah, what _she_ said." Tyco added.

"Alright. Here goes." Junior said, walking over to swipe the keycard and unlock the door.

"Wait!" Tyco called after him, "I uh... I need to..."

Without warning, he proceeded to start coughing violently as Jade began to slap him on the back in order to help him stop choking. Within a few seconds, a wet ball of pale lavender fur was sent flying off the edge of the platform that was the third floor.

"Sometimes it sucks to be half-cat." Tyco gasped.

Junior rolled his eyes and swiped the card, before stepping back. The gear-shaped frame around the door rotated a bit, before the door itself split into two halves, which let out a hissing sound as they slowly and dramatically parted. Some steam also leaked out of the door-frame as this happened. Finally, with no more time to waste, the trio hurried into the blinding white light that was obscuring the oncoming hallway.


	11. Chapter 11: Raiders of Lost Emerald P2

Chapter 11: Raiders of the Lost Emerald (Part 2):

As the door slowly shut behind them, the same octopus that had been spying on them appeared. Without a word or noise, it climbed into an air-vent cover just outside the massive door. Before long, the trio wound up inside a fairly large circular room with a dome-shaped ceiling. The walls were full of windows that provided a view into the fish tanks, and a few glass panels on the ceiling had nothing but bright magma on the other side, giving the room an ominous orange glow.

"So _that's_ how he managed to build this place under here!" Tyco said in awe as he eyed the ceiling, "He must've made it out of something lava-resistant!"

"That's the beauty of technology, isn't it?" A voice asked over a loudspeaker, prompting the heroes to look around apprehensively.

"Who said that?" Junior asked.

There was no answer. Before anyone could say anything else, a round vent-cover appeared in the wall just below the ceiling. Out of it slid a medium-sized robotic octopus with a crimson exterior, a head the size of a car, and a pair of interconnected, glowing yellow eyes with a short, tube-shaped extension just below them. It scuttled down the wall before arriving on the floor just across from the trio. It halted in place as it stood on all eight of its arms.

"Oh... kay?" Tyco asked.

"Well! Looks like Eggman sent us a welcoming party!" Junior jeered, casually stepping closer to the robot, "D'awww! And he even gave us _refreshments_! I fucking _love_ octopus dumplings!"

"Fools!" The unknown voice called again, prompting the trio to enter a fighting stance, and simultaneously causing Junior to flinch a little.

Everyone watched in silence as the lights in the octopus' eyes shut off, revealing them to simply be a translucent yellow glass dome. With a hissing sound, said dome rose upwards to reveal none other than Dr. Eggman himself... or more accurately, a reincarnation of him. This version looked virtually identical to the original doctor, but had a considerably younger-looking face, and a full head of brunette hair.

"Well, well, well! So it was _you_ meddlers who exposed my base and destroyed my guardian! And now you're trying to overthrow me as the sole voice of government here?!" Eggman snarled, before he suddenly took notice of Junior, "... Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up! Blue fur? Gelled up spines? Green eyes? Red sneakers? ... It's... it's actually true!"

" _What_ is?" Tyco asked.

"That... that _hedgehog_! He's the same one who thwarted my _ancestor_! The same one I heard legends of while I was discovering my destiny to follow in the great doctor's footsteps! And _now_ he's here to hunt _me_ down _too_!" Eggman freaked out.

"Haha! Not quite!" Junior chuckled arrogantly, "That _hedgehog_ is my father! _My_ name is Sonic Jr.! I guess you could say that a reincarnation of a _villain_ is about to get utterly scrambled by a reincarnation of a _hero_!"

"Well I guess _that_ explains how you were able to get through all my traps so easily." Eggman replied, "... Including that whale back there. _That_ one actually impressed me."

"Wait! _What_ whale?!" Jade asked angrily.

Wordlessly, Eggman pulled out a remote and pressed the single button on it, causing the circular, central portion of the floor to rise up, revealing a cylindrical tank where the albino whale was trapped. This time, however, she was attached to the lid of the tank via several wires that were emitting the same purple glow as her eye-piece.

"When I was taking over this country, you wouldn't be able to _comprehend_ the amount of legends I read about the place! This rather unique specimen you see here was one of many!" Eggman explained, "She has the ability to control all the sea creatures in these waters with her soothing whale-songs, and I figured I could use it to my advantage! Unfortunately, I still have yet to completely harness the ability, hence why I'm roboticizing all the sea-life in the area until I do!"

"Well with your little 'experiments', all you're doing is causing a crash in the seafood industry and limiting the options for the citizens _even further_!" Jade countered.

"Hah! You think I care about that shit?! We dictators don't have time to worry about the petty needs of the equally petty civilians!" Eggman replied with a cackle as he sent the whale's tank back into the floor.

Right as the tank was completely submerged again, Tyco shot a fireball directly at Eggman's exposed head, though this was quickly blocked as he closed his cockpit once more, also proceeding to activate the eye-lights again.

"I've heard just about enough of your evil bullshit!" Tyco said, "Agreed?!"

"Yeah!" Junior and Jade replied in unison as all three heroes entered a fighting stance.

"Very well, then! I guess it's _finally_ time to prove that I am the better Eggman!" Eggman declared.

Before anything else could be done, a set of eight small, circular panels in the floor opened up and several tentacle-shaped scraps of metal rose out of the holes. The octopus-shaped robot levitated off the ground and inserted each arm into one of the extensions, resulting in a much larger robot overall. Immediately after its transformation, the mech immediately hurried into the fray and began using its tentacles to swat and jab at the heroes, who proceeded to run around sporadically to make themselves harder targets. In the midst of running, Tyco proceeded to launch a series of fireballs, only for them to be swatted away effortlessly. Junior managed to dodge a few attacks by running around them, eventually leading to three of the tentacles getting tangled up. He ran along the resulting braid of metal and homing-attacked the robot right in its eye. Though it didn't leave a scratch, it was enough to send it reeling back a considerable distance until it bumped into the wall and fell onto its side.

"Guys! There it is!" Jade announced, pointing to a glass compartment hidden on the mech's underside, "There's the emerald!"

She and Tyco didn't hesitate to make a beeline for it, though the robot got up rather quickly, forcing them to abruptly retreat. However, though Junior and Tyco managed to run away, Jade was once again grabbed by one of the tentacles.

"Gah! Not _again_!" She yelled as Eggman cackled from inside his cockpit, "Wait! I got it!"

Without saying another word, Jade closed her eyes and allowed her body to become enveloped in a bright red aura. Eggman paid no attention to this as he busied himself swatting at her partners. He only noticed what was going on when Jade said:

"Chaos... BLAST!"

A blinding red explosion suddenly occurred, destroying the arm that held Jade captive, as well as three others. The mech as a whole was sent reeling once again, though this time it caught itself. Jade broke her fall with a few cartwheels and rejoined her friends. Before anything else could happen, Junior began to run rapid circles around their adversary (who tried in vain to hit him with its tentacles) until he picked up enough speed to create a blue whirlwind, which lifted the mech off the ground and carried it around the room in mid-air for a spell before suddenly dying down. With the robot falling helplessly toward the floor, Junior proceeded to aim his foot downwards at its cockpit, though once again, he only bounced off. The mech still fell onto the ground once more, though this time it managed to snatch Junior out of the air and throw him harshly towards the floor, hard enough to send him right through it.

"JUNIOR!" Jade yelled in alarm.

"YEAH, WHAT _SHE_ SAID!" Tyco exclaimed, before the two were forced to turn around at the sound of the mech approaching.

"Heh heh heh! Looks like the _tide_ has turned in my favor!" Eggman gloated, "Let's see how you two will fare without your precious team leader!"

Without warning, the octopus mech slapped one of its four remaining tentacles against the floor, with Jade and Tyco running off in opposite directions in order to dodge it. Seeing how he could only go after one at a time, Eggman steered his mech in the same direction as Jade. He eventually cornered her against a wall and began to try and snag her again, though she was quick to dodge every attack. She attempted to hit the mech back with several kicks and chops, though each of her attacks was blocked. Tyco used this to his advantage as he snuck up behind the robotic octopus, using his telekinesis to grab one of its tentacles and tug on it, for he knew that the mech would become more vulnerable the less arms it had. The mech struggled against his grip, simultaneously swatting away a chaos lance that Jade had fired at it, causing it to create yet another hole in the ground.

Meanwhile down below the arena, Junior came to and realized that he was in a hidden chamber beneath the floor. He could hear his comrades fighting Eggman just above him, though he momentarily tuned this out as he spotted a massive water tank in the floor he was standing on, where the possessed whale was swimming around after being released earlier. Upon spotting the hedgehog, the whale let out a chirp of rage and rammed into the glass panel on top, shattering it and splashing the surrounding floor a little. Junior cautiously stepped back as she poked her head above the surface. Just when he thought she was about to lunge at him, he retaliated with a homing-attack, effectively destroying the mind-controlling eye-piece and neutralizing her. As a testament to this, her whale-calls turned from fury to grace and tranquility. This whale-call caused the arena above to shake due to the reverberations of the noise.

"Wh-Wha?! Wh-What's going on down there?!" Eggman asked, before he was taken by surprise as a swift screw-kick from Jade sent his mech flying into the wall.

Tyco once again latched onto one of the tentacles with his telekinesis and attempted to tug on it. However, the mech proved to be too strong and proceeded to drag him haphazardly around the room until he had no choice but to let go. He managed to break his fall before regrouping with Jade.

"Damn it! I can't seem to get a good enough grip on those tentacles!" He told her.

"Well... maybe you'll need some extra weight on your end." Jade suggested, before she was startled by a mechanical noise.

The two watched as the mech stood upright once more and readied the cannon just below its eyes.

"See if you can dodge _this_ , you little fuckers!" Eggman jeered as he pressed a button on his control panel.

The cannon let loose a massive ball of shiny black ink into the air, which exploded, splattering all over most of the floor and even halfway up the walls. Tyco managed to prevent any from splashing onto himself or Jade thanks to his telekinesis, however. Unfazed by the attack, Jade swiftly leapt forwards and aimed a screw-kick right at the mech, though the massive robot suddenly pixelated and split into thousands of glowing fragments, resulting in her simply flying through him with no consequences (though she did end up skidding a little upon landing). Suddenly, all the pixels clumped together and lowered themselves into the ink, merging themselves with the substance in the process, and proceeding to move around haphazardly as a black lump. The robot roamed around for a spell before it re-materialized on the wall.

"Wait! What the fuck?!" Jade asked in shock, "How did he even _do_ that?!"

"I dunno, but whatever the hell it was, it was _treason_!" Tyco replied, shooting a fireball at his foe.

The robot expectedly dodged the projectile by pixelating itself, though this time, Tyco used his telekinesis to hold all of the pixels in place. He scattered them all over the arena and proceeded to use fireballs to destroy some of the fragments individually, with Jade assisting him with several martial-arts combos. Within a few more seconds, however, the mech re-materialized, though this time it looked considerably damaged, as did its owner, who now looked somewhat disheveled.

"Wait! What the fuck?!" Eggman groaned.

"If _you're_ allowed to do something that off-the-wall, then damn it, why shouldn't _we_ be?!" Tyco asked cockily.

Eggman rolled his eyes and continued to use the mech's merging ability to dodge the attacks, now able to avoid them much more quickly due to part of its metallic body having been shed. At this point, neither Jade nor Tyco were able to land a hit on him, and only ended up repeatedly slipping on the ink.

"Crap! How are we supposed to do this _now_?!" Jade asked worriedly, "... Oof!"

Bot she and Tyco grunted as their enemy suddenly resurfaced nearby and sent them sliding along the ground with a slap from one of its four remaining tentacles. The mech didn't hesitate to pursue the two, not so much chasing them as he was trying to ram them. Tyco managed to use the ink below his feet to his advantage and slid under the robot. He quickly counterattacked by grabbing one of the tentacles with his telekinesis, though this time, he activated his Steel Sneakers in order to weigh himself down, and it proved to be a very good strategy. The mech struggled to break free, and could not fight back due to its three remaining tentacles already being occupied as they attempted to hit Jade. Meanwhile, down below the floor, Junior had mounted himself on top of the now freed legendary whale, positioning himself just behind her blowhole.

"Alright, _now_!" He announced.

Obediently, the whale plunged to the bottom of her tank in order to build an adequate amount of upward momentum. When she breached the surface, she leapt high into the air until she was just short of hitting the ceiling. Promptly, Junior revved up a spin-dash and jumped vertically off of her back, rupturing a hole in the ceiling from his own strength alone. Without warning, Jade, Tyco, and Eggman all watched as a blue blur rammed straight into the octopus mech's underside, resulting in a sound that resembled a shattering piece of glass, which was somewhat muffled by the sound of the robot being sent reeling into the wall from the force of this attack. Before Junior could land on the ground, the whale proceeded to spout a voluminous amount of water out of her blowhole, which removed the ink from the floor (which then drained out of the new hole) and partially short-circuited the mech. Jade and Tyco could only watch as Junior adopted a cocky smirk and activated his Steel Sneakers, before performing a few front-flips and aiming both of his feet right at the head of the robotic octopus. He hit his target perfectly, shattering the glass that was covering the cockpit and forcing the Eggmobile out of its robotic shell, which immediately shut down after the connection was cut off.

"Wh-wh-WHOAH!" Eggman yelled as he was sent spinning along the floor.

He ended up crashing into the wall and forcefully ejected from his pod. Junior, meanwhile, was finally able to land on the ground by his cohorts, holding up the green Chaos Emerald proudly.

"Nice work, Junior!" Jade praised him, "Heh! It _almost_ makes up for that _tsunami_ you caused not too long ago!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Tyco added as he stomped over towards the incapacitated doctor.

Junior and Jade followed him towards the wall as Eggman suddenly stood up. The sight of the three heroes approaching him immediately freaked him out, and he bolted for his Eggmobile. However, Tyco used his telekinesis to lift the flying pod out of his reach, while Junior boosted into him, effectively knocking him back into the wall. He quickly sped over and held him against the wall by his neck.

"Ngh! Please! D-don't hurt me!" Eggman moaned.

"Give it up, fatass! I'm afraid you've lost!" Junior replied harshly, "Now tell me: where are the other Chaos Emeralds?!"

"How should _I_ know?! I only got my hands on _one_ of them!" Eggman retorted, "Of course, I _was_ planning to hunt them down _eventually_ , but I prefer to bide my time!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Junior replied, tightening his grip and balling his free hand into a fist, "I _know_ you're behind this! The other six Chaos Emeralds were all stolen and are each being kept on a different continent! And each continent was taken over around the same time, with all the conquerors operating under the name 'Eggman'! Now, WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"Damn traitor." Tyco whispered into Jade's ear.

"I... I swear! Honest to... God! I'm not... oog... responsible! Those guys must... eecchh... be... _impostors_!" Eggman replied through his choking, "P-P-Please... d-don't... k-k-kill me... !"

Junior rolled his eyes and harshly threw the doctor into his Eggmobile, which was still being levitated thanks to Tyco.

"Alright, gang! It looks as though _this_ guy won't be of any use! Care to do the honors?!" Junior asked.

"Right on!" Jade replied, immediately flip-kicking the Eggmobile up towards the ceiling as Eggman screamed in fear and helplessness.

Tyco caught the pod in his telekinesis once more and pulled it in close, before using his free hand to summon some flames which immediately coated the entire vehicle. Eggman screamed in agony as he was tossed upwards again.

"Chaos... LANCE!" Jade exclaimed, firing an energy projectile up at the flaming pod.

The impact resulted in an explosion that shattered the Eggmobile to countless chunks and sent the doctor falling down to the ground, blackened and all but unconscious. Before any of the heroes could follow up with any more attacks, however, they noticed one of the massive fragments of the Eggmobile collide with the glass panelling on the ceiling, effectively shattering it and causing some of the molten lava to fill up the room.

"Oh shit! _Now_ what are we supposed to do?!" Tyco asked in alarm.

"Heh heh heh! What a bunch of dumbasses!" Eggman chuckled sinisterly, "Looks like you three have _nowhere to run_ now! You may have been able to stop me, but it looks as though you've trapped all of us in here as well! Hope you like it hot, 'cuz that's all you'll be feeling in just a few moments! _Nyah_ ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Before anything else could be said, the whale suddenly created another whole in the floor. She let out a whale-call of encouragement as she slapped the water in her tank hurriedly.

"I think she knows the way out!" Jade said.

"Well what other options do we even have?! Let's get the fuck outta here!" Junior replied, immediately mounting the whale once more.

Jade and Tyco followed suit and the whale proceeded to swim down to the bottom of her tank at full speed, using the sound-waves from a whale-call to shatter the glass and escape into the complicated waterways that snaked their way around the hidden base. Eggman hurried over to the hole after them, barely managing to jump in and swim in pursuit as the magma completely flooded the room and turned into a solid rock barrier as soon as it touched the water. Inside what remained of the room, the lava eventually became so voluminous that it destroyed the entirety of it. More than likely, it could only be a matter of time before it would destroy the entire temple as well.

The trio continued to ride piggyback on the whale as she swam towards the exit with unwavering determination. Eggman was swimming a few yards behind, though they paid no mind to this. Even further back, the rapidly hardening lava was following them, preventing them from turning back even if they wanted to. As the whale continued to navigate the ruins, she let out a series of whale songs, alerting every sea creature in the vicinity (only the ones who hadn't been roboticized yet) and causing their eyes to glow purple as they were possessed by her hypnotic melody. Eventually, the whale leapt out of the water, exiting the same tank that had contained the key to the arena where the octopus mech had been fought. Now the heroes recognized the main hall. Tyco did not hesitate to use his telekinesis to guide the whale over to the passage that led out of the temple. Eggman managed to climb out of the tank himself and stopped to look around with a forlorn look on his face as he watched his secret headquarters collapse.

"My... m-m-my... p-precious b-b-b-base!" He sniffled, before a large chunk of the fortress fell and nearly crushed him.

This prompted the doctor to hurry after the heroes and dive after them into the same tunnel. With a few head-butts, the whale managed to destroy the stone door and escape into the ocean, which was now glistening under a gorgeous sunset. She was followed out by a gigantic school of sea creatures that she had rescued, alongside Eggman. Right after the latter barely escaped the temple, a massive underwater avalanche occurred, permanently destroying his base from within and sealing up the cave that it once occupied with a pile of immovable boulders. Junior, Tyco, and Jade had already gotten off of the whale and popped up at the surface. Tyco let out a loud dog-whistle, summoning the Tornado-2, which the trio didn't hesitate to board. As the plane lifted up into the sky, they could see an expansive cloud of rubble and dust that had been stirred up underwater from the tremor. Looking up a bit more, they could also see that Christmas Island's volcano had completely caved in on itself due to a lack of support from the temple below it, which had always kept it upright. As a result, it left nothing behind but a massive expanse of black, rocky ground.

"Welp, that's _one_ emerald down!" Junior said excitedly, "Just six more to go, and the world will be saved before we know it!"

"Great going, team!" Jade replied.

"Yeah, what she... !" Tyco replied, before he heard someone sputtering saltwater down below, "Haha! Look who it is!"

Dr. Eggman popped back up at the surface, clearly out of breath as he treaded water.

"Heh! I survived! I honestly didn't think that would be _possible_!" He gloated, "But it doesn't matter! I'll find another power-source, and the Genesis Isles will be mine once again... !"

His voice trailed off as the legendary whale suddenly breached the ocean's surface right next to him, jostling him around in the resulting waves. The whale performed a triple backflip a good thirty feet into the air and sang once more. Suddenly, a school of oceanic white-tip sharks popped up right around the marooned doctor and proceeded to latch their powerful jaws onto different parts of his body.

"GAH! YEOWCH! HEY! GET OFF ME, YOU LITTLE... ! NNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Eggman shouted in excruciating pain as the sharks dragged him under, playing tug-of-war with his body and forming a massive cloud of blood that disrupted the coastal waters.

"Well it looks like we won't be seeing _him_ anymore!" Junior said cheekily.

The whale finally made her landing in the water and popped her head back up, letting out whale-calls of gratitude and waving a flipper at the trio.

"Thanks for the help, madame! And sorry for all that body-shaming from earlier!" Junior called down to her.

"So long!" Jade called back.

"Yeah, what she said!" Tyco called back as well.

The whale continued to wave until her entirely body suddenly tensed up. The heroes could see a massive cloud of blood surrounding her body as she groaned loudly in discomfort before quickly disappearing beneath the surface.

"Heh! I guess she was on her period after all!" Tyco chuckled, "See? It doesn't hurt to believe in oceanic legends, now does it?"

"I guess not." Jade replied.

"Alright, team! Without further ado, I suggest we hurry onward to the _next_ emerald!" Junior announced.

With that, the group buckled in and flew off towards their next destination.

Meanwhile, down on a lone rock just off the coast of Christmas Island, an unknown being stood, staring observantly at the trio as they left the now free country. He was a purple weasel with a V-shaped tail and a single sharp front tooth sticking out of his mouth, clad in a coffee-colored belt and a matching Indiana Jones-esque hat. As he was silently watching them leave, he suddenly felt a vibration, pulling out a walkie-talkie in response.

"Yo, Nack!" A squawky voice asked from the other end, "Status update!"

"For the last time, my name is _Fang_! Got it?! F-A-N-G! _Fang_!" Fang replied irritatedly.

"Yeah, well as long as _I'm_ calling the shots, I'll call you whatever the hell I want!" The unknown recipient replied, "Anyways, the damn status update if you don't mind?!"

"I was too late, boss. Some unknown band of heroes beat me to it." Fang replied.

"Gah! Are you _sure_ you're the A-list treasure hunter you claim to be?!" The recipient asked impatiently.

"Trust me, birdie. I won't let those goody two-shoes' get their mitts on more than _one_ emerald." Fang replied calmly, "There are still six of them up for grabs. If I can get at least two relatively soon, we'll be one step ahead. You and your squad will be entering that interstellar race before you know it."

"If you say so." The recipient replied, "Now hop to it, or I'll hunt you down and turn you into a hat."

"Got it." Fang replied, hanging up.


	12. Chapter 12: Mission Briefing

Chapter 12: Mission Briefing:

Back at the mansion, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were all lounging in the living room, collectively bored now that they had no adventure to embark on. The entire room contained crumpled snack bags and beer cans scattered everywhere, with Sonic and Tails slumped lazily on the couch while Knuckles was lying back on the recliner, with the back of the chair parallel to the ground.

"What do we do _now_?" Sonic whined.

"Why the hell are _you_ the one whining?" Tails asked, "It's _your_ fault we're stuck here while the kids are all out there probably having the time of their lives!"

"Well, while we're waiting for something to happen, why don't we play So-" Knuckles began.

"No, Knuckles! We're _not_ playing Soggy Biscuit!" Sonic sternly cut him off.

"Boy, do _you_ have a dirty mind!" Knuckles retorted with an eye-roll, "I was _just_ gonna say Sonic Shuffle."

"If we're going to play a party game on a fifth generation console, it might as well be Mario Party 2." Sonic replied, "Because not even what remains of our _fanbase_ likes Sonic Shuffle."

"But playing a Mario Party game would be treason." Knuckles continued, "Besides, I thought we agreed to _only_ buy a console if you appeared in at least one game in its library, cameo or otherwise. Are you trying to tell me you bought a Nintendo 64 behind our backs?"

"What?! Of _course_ not, Knucklehead!" Sonic retorted, "I simply bought it on the Wii's Virtual Console. I figured that would've been in the gray area, given how many Sonic games that console got."

As he watched his friends argue, Tails groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Bring us another round, Metal." He said.

Soon enough, Metal Sonic appeared in the door to the hallway, carrying a tray with three bottles of beer on it. This was enough to make Sonic and Knuckles pay attention.

"Gah! Metal Sonic!" Sonic exclaimed, he and Knuckles leaping into a fighting stance.

"Guys, calm down! He's as harmless as a _caterpillar_ now." Tails explained, "See, shortly after you arrived back on Mobius after you killed Eggman, these parts fell from the sky and landed in the backyard, so I thought I'd reprogram him into our servant."

"Wow, pretty nifty, Tails!" Sonic praised, patting his best friend on the back with one hand and accepting his beer with the other.

"I was _also_ considering reprogramming Gemerl into our house chef, but I ultimately decided to donate his parts to GUN after I heard they were trying to develop a super-soldier." Tails continued, before his ears twitched at the sound of some beeps emanating from his bedroom, "Be right back, guys!"

Neither Sonic nor Knuckles said a word in response, giving Tails the chance to retire to his room and answer his call. Sitting down on his bottom bunk, he tapped the screen on his Miles Electric, revealing a live video feed of Tyco piloting the Tornado-2.

"What's up, Uncle Tails?" He asked casually.

"Uh, Tyco? _Maybe_ you shouldn't Skype while flying. _I'll_ take that." A voice replied.

Tails watched as the screen moved before settling on Junior's face.

"Hi, Uncle Tails!" He said.

"Hey, guys! How's the emerald hunt coming along?" Tails asked.

"Well, we've already gotten our first one! And it was the one you _grown-ups_ said would be the trickiest to find!" Junior replied, showing Tails the green chaos emerald, "How's _that_ for a first heroic accomplishment?"

"That's awesome, guys! Great work! I'm sure your father will be proud!" Tails replied, "And what's _next_ on the agenda?"

"Well we've only _just_ left the Genesis Isles. There are two countries roughly the same distance from our current location, and we're still deciding on which one to tackle next." Jade said, scooting up next to Junior so she was visible on the screen too.

"Well you'd better make that decision _quickly_. The longer those emeralds remain in Eggman's hands, the more damage he could do." Tails said.

"Speaking of which, it turns out that there might actually be _more_ than one Eggman." Tyco butt in, his voice clearly audible to Tails despite him not being visible on screen, "After we confronted the one at the Genesis Isles, he claimed that he was unaware of what else was going on in the world. And he didn't say _another word_ before we fed him to the sharks."

"Oh! But uh, before we forget, we also found some _other_ interesting information." Junior said, "So while we were in the Genesis Isles, we got roped into some quest to find three pieces of a tablet that would unlock a temple underwater. And that temple just so happened to be where Eggman set up his base."

"Yeah, and both the door and the walls inside were covered in murals and mosaics depicting Uncle Sonic. Almost as if he's considered some type of legend." Jade added.

"Speaking of which, mind if we talk to him?" Junior asked.

"Er... sorry, but he's a little busy right now." Tails replied.

"Ah well. Anywho, we also came across his family who still lives there even after all these decades." Junior explained, "I'm not gonna go into depth about all the drama within them, but they were able to give us a very detailed background on Dad, and how he became a hero. Apparently his incredibly fast speed is actually a birth-defect caused by his mom drinking during the pregnancy."

"Wait, what?!" Tails asked.

"He's not joking!" Jade butt in.

"Alright, if you say so... WHOAH!" Tails replied as he was intercepted by Cream.

"Uh, what's going on over there?" Junior asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just... the ol' fiancé's getting a little frisky, that's all." Tails replied, blushing.

"What can I say? I'm a rabbit." Cream butt in, a sultry edge to her voice.

"Yeah... well, good luck on the rest of your journey, you three. And be sure to keep us posted!" Tails said.

"No problem, Uncle Tails!" Junior replied, tapping the tablet's screen to end the call before reinserting the tablet into the dashboard.

"Okay, so with _that_ out of the way, I vote we head to Spagonia next." Tyco suggested, "If we're gonna go into the specifics of it all, then that continent is slightly closer to our current location than Holoska."

Jade and Junior simply shrugged in response.

"Alrighty! Sounds like a plan, then!" Tyco finished, increasing the plane's speed and changing his team's route accordingly.

After a few more hours of flight, however, someone on the ground spotted the Tornado-2 flying overhead. A small green duck lowered a pair of binoculars from his narrowed eyes.

"Yo, Ray!" He called over to a yellow flying squirrel with shoes that greatly resembled Sonic's, who was lounging on a bench nearby, "Some asshole's discovered us! We can't let our secret get out! C'mon! Let's shoot 'em down and blow 'em straight to hell!"

"Gah! What do we do, Bean?!" Ray asked in shock.

"Don't panic! Just help me load the cannon! I _never_ miss a shot! _Especially_ with _explosives_!" Bean replied arrogantly.

Obediently, Ray arrived with crates upon crates of bombs, while Bean aimed a fairly large cannon upwards at the passing plane. He attached an infra-red telescope onto the cannon and leaned in so he could peer through it.

"Ray! Light the fuse!" Bean ordered, "We're gonna hit 'em good with... the alphabetized bombs!"

"Aye aye, sir!" Ray replied, tossing Bombs A-E into the cannon.

Up in the sky, the trio was taken by surprise at the sound of the cannon firing from below.

"What in the hell is going _on_ down there?" Tyco asked, tilting the plane so he could see the area below them, "Oh shit! DO A BARREL ROLL!"

Thanks to that last-minute maneuver, Tyco managed to swerve around the first two bombs.

"What's wrong, Tyco?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, traitor!" Junior butt in.

"Someone's shooting at us! It might be Eggman! Or _one_ of them at least!" Tyco replied, "Gah!"

He quickly swerved around the third and fourth bombs.

"Can't you switch to battle mode and take them out from up here?!" Junior asked in an obvious state of panic.

"I _could_ , but they're shooting too frequently! I'm too busy dodging them!" Tyco replied.

"Aw, damn it! Their plane's too swift! This calls for the heat-seekers!" Bean demanded.

Bean proceeded to fire off multiple missiles which homed in on the plane.

"Eek! Guys! We have to do something!" Tyco said, "I can't switch to battle mode so long as they're firing so constantly!"

"Alrighty then! C'mon, Jade!" Junior replied, opening the glass dome on the cockpit and hopping onto the wing.

Jade followed suit by leaping onto the opposite wing. Junior eyed a couple of missiles zeroing in on his side of the plane and proceeded to knock one into the other with a homing attack. Jade fired off some chaos spears to neutralize the two on her side. Soon enough, more missiles came along, which Junior and Jade worked together to fight off. It was then that a much larger one appeared.

"Guys, if that thing hits us, I swear to God... !" Tyco started.

"Relax, dude! We're all _over_ this!" Junior replied, "Jade! We'll have to pair up for _this_ one! It's _big_!"

Jade blushed a little, before adopting a serious look and proceeding to charge up a chaos lance. Without even thinking, Junior jumped to the other side of the plane and curled into a spin-dash.

"Quick! Fuse that with me!" Junior ordered, "It'll work! I _know_ it will!"

"Rrgh! Junior, you're doing that thing again! You can't be reckless here!" Jade replied.

"JUST DO IT!" Junior demanded.

With no other choice, Jade fused the massive energy projectile with Junior's curled-up body, and the even deadlier projectile launched itself full speed at the missile, triggering a massive explosion which the Tornado-2 effortlessly flew through, catching Junior on its wing as it passed.

"Heh! Either _I'm_ too reckless, or _you're_ too overbearing! One of those two!" Junior said snarkily, eliciting an eye-roll from Jade.

"Gah! How do they keep doing this?!" Bean asked angrily, "Rrgh! That's it! Ray, get over here!"

Ray didn't have time to reply before Bean grabbed him and stuffed him into the cannon, before launching him directly at the plane. By this time, Jade and Junior had reentered the cockpit, seemingly having warded off the attackers. That is until they were taken by surprise when Ray landed on the windshield, covering it almost completely thanks to the membranes under his arms. He adopted a cocky grin as Tyco tried in vain to shake him off with various aerial maneuvers.

"Ugh! Goddamn it! Why didn't Tails put windshield wipers on this thing?!" He groaned, frantically searching his dashboard for something useful.

Suddenly, the plane's left wing was hit with Bomb E, causing it to spiral out of control. All three of its occupants were screaming in terror as they plummeted towards the ground.

"What the- GAH!" Tyco exclaimed as Bomb F hit the nose of the plane and sped up their descent.

Ray, who was still on the windshield, let out a mischievous chuckle as he eyed the sense of panic between the plane's occupants. Junior, Jade, and Tyco could only keep screaming and brace themselves for their eventual impact.


	13. Chapter 13: Isle of the Forgotten

Chapter 13: Isle of the Forgotten:

When the trio came to, they were all scattered out on the sand, at the beach of an unfamiliar island. Jade was not only the first to wake up, but also the first to notice the situation of the Tornado-2. Its nose was buried in the ground, and smoke was billowing from its tail-end.

"Uh, guys? Er... what do we do _now_?" She asked to her slowly awakening comrades.

"Beats me." Tyco replied as he looked around, "Hey! A football!"

He quickly hurried over to a nearby wooden shack and grabbed an American football from the bench outside it. The air had leaked out, a bunch of hay and twigs was stuffed into the hole at one end, and a crude face had been drawn on it with some type of red liquid.

"Junior! Go long!" Tyco called out, using his telekinesis to launch the football a good distance above the water.

"I got it! I got it!" Junior yelled back, boosting across the ocean to catch the ball.

However, the minute he finally caught up to it, a massive great white shark surfaced and snatched the ball right out of the air with its powerful jaws. Junior just barely managed to avoid getting eaten himself.

"Whoa! Shit!" He screamed, immediately boosting back towards the safety of the shoreline, "Whew!"

"Oh my God! They killed Xenith!" Bean blurted out, hurrying over to the trio.

"You bastards!" Ray added, following his friend to the scene.

"And who would _you_ two be?" Junior asked.

"Our identity is none of your concern, trespassers." Bean replied, "Just get the hell off our island, or else... Bark?!"

The duck casually snapped his fingers, and as if on cue, a large polar bear quickly entered the scene. He was big and burly with a cream-colored pelt, maroon gloves and shoes, a green neckerchief, and a bed beanie with a tuft of fur poking out from under it. He roared viciously in the face of the heroes, spraying them with countless flecks of saliva.

"Whoa there, buddy! Calm your tits!" Junior replied, "We're not intruding on _anything_ , here!"

"Yeah, we were just flying by on our way to Spagonia when we were suddenly shot down and landed here." Jade added.

"That so? Well how do we know we can trust you?" Bark replied, his voice gruff, "'Cuz _last_ time someone wound up on our island, they ended up kidnapping our own Fang the Sniper and using him for their evil bidding!"

"Hold the phone!" Ray butt in, staring intently at Junior's shoes, "Wait a minute! These guys come in peace! It's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" Bean replied.

"Look at the shoes!" Ray replied.

The other two didn't hesitate to eye the iconic footwear as well, immediately making the connection.

"Ah, so it _is_ Sonic! How ya' doin', old friend?" Bark asked, joking punching Junior in the arm and accidentally sending him flat onto his back.

"Well actually, Sonic the Hedgehog is my father. People call me Junior." Junior replied, politely shaking the hands of the three strangers.

"And I'm Jade." Jade butt in.

"The name's Tyco." Tyco butt in as well.

"Pleased to meet all three of you." Bean said, "Sorry for any inconveniences we caused you. Mind if we take a look at your plane? See if there's anything we can do?"

"Sounds good to me." Tyco replied, "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can make our parents proud."

"Well in _that_ case... Bark?" Ray replied, prompting Bark to pick up the Tornado-2's remains with his brute strength alone and carry it over his head.

As the group of six made the trek into town, they proceeded to engage in conversation.

"So if Sonic the Hedgehog is your father, then where is he?" Bean asked, he and Junior walking ahead of the others.

"As of years ago, he's in semi-retirement. Up until recently, there hasn't been anything threatening the entire world, so he's been taking it easy and mostly fighting smaller crimes within the United Federation, which is where we hail from." Junior replied, "That being said, he and the rest of our parents agreed to let us set out on this quest alone in order to prove our competence as heroes."

"Ah, so I guess even ol' Sonic has his limits, huh?" Bark chimed in, showing no visible signs of strain as he carried the Tornado-2 behind them, "I remember several years ago, when we both participated in that fighting tournament together, and your dad was the first opponent I ever lost to."

"That's Uncle Sonic for ya'!" Jade chimed in as well.

Before long, the group arrived in what appeared to be a beachfront ghost town comprised mostly of wooden and metallic sheds and surrounded by huge sand dunes that were even taller than the buildings. A few coconut trees were scattered about, creating the right amount of shade around the village.

"Welcome to our home, travelers! It's not much, but it's... well, yeah... not much." Ray said, rubbing the back of his head, "Er, Bark? You mind carrying that plane into that shed on the end? We'll have a look at it later!"

Bark obliged without a word.

"So anyway, what exactly _is_ this place?" Tyco asked, tapping the screen on his Miles Electric, "Because according to our map, this place is completely uncharted."

"Excellent question, my two-powered friend!" Bean replied, "Allow me to welcome you to... the Isle of the Forgotten!"

"Isle of the Forgotten? Well gee, no _wonder_ I haven't heard of it." Jade replied.

"This island is home to all the beings in this universe who haven't participated in any world-saving antics for a while." Ray explained, "And to preserve secrecy, we're always on the lookout for anything passing by that might discover us. In fact, not too long ago, someone _did_. And they kidnapped Fang, who was living here with us. Ever since then, we haven't been taking any chances with people who fly overhead. Sorry again for the inconvenience, and we'll be sure to have your plane ready by sunrise."

"Really, there's no need to beat yourself up over this." Junior replied, "It's not like we were in a time-crunch or anything."

"And seeing how you guys have decided to help _us_ , what say we return the favor?" Jade proposed, "You said some goons kidnapped your friend, right? Maybe you could tell us what you know, and we'll keep an eye out for them during our journey."

"Sounds good to me." Bark butt in, having rejoined and caught up with the group.

"So basically, this trio of birds arrived on this massive airship, which was virtually immune to our defenses. One of them was short and green, one was pink and kinda' sexy, and then there was this gray one even bigger than Bark." Ray explained.

"Oh yeah? I still could've taken him on!" Bark replied angrily.

"Regardless, that's what the crooks looked like. I'm not sure what they wanted with Fang, or where they flew off to, but whatever they're up to, it can't be good." Bean added.

"Consider it done!" Tyco chimed in, "Now on _another_ note, it seems we haven't learned all your names yet."

Several hours later, the group of six was gathered around a campfire on the beach beneath a gorgeous sunset that mottled the sky as far as the eye could see. They were engaging in casual conversation as Bark busied himself stirring a massive pot over the open flame with a rusted metal ladle.

"Alright, folks! Tonight's special is almost ready!" Ray announced, standing on a stool as he peered into the pot, "And by that I mean _every_ night's special!"

"And what would _that_ be? Because _whatever_ it is, it smells pretty damn good." Tyco replied.

"I like to call it 'Whatever Stew'. It simply consists of whatever edible plants and small animals we can find on the island, along with some salt harvested from the surrounding ocean." Ray explained, "And _speaking_ of the ocean, tonight's batch should be _extra_ delicious seeing how blackfin tuna have come back in season recently!"

"Oh, so I take it the seafood crisis from the Genesis Isles didn't affect you guys too much?" Jade asked, "Because we only _just_ got to the bottom of it, and we all know it takes time for an industry to recover from something like that."

"It really hasn't." Bark chimed in, "The amount of critters we catch around here has been the same for years."

"Well _that's_ good to hear." Jade replied.

"Alrighty, chums! Stew's on!" Ray announced, prompting Bean to bring a stack of six bowls up towards the cauldron.

Within a couple of minutes, each person was served a bowl of piping hot 'whatever stew'. Bean, Ray, and Bark began to wolf down their food immediately, while the heroes ate more slowly and cautiously. Junior in particular took a good long look into his bowl before he ate. Once the cloud of aroma cleared, he was provided with a good view of his dinner. Aside from the aforementioned tuna, he could make out chunks of palm fruit and the meat from various species of crab, as well as the spicy scent of some native plant that he was unfamiliar with. Shrugging and taking a bite, he discovered that the stew as a whole was rich and creamy, and such a revelation almost made him choke.

"Something the matter, there?" Ray asked, having already devoured three bowls of the stew.

"Oh, nothing. It's... it's pretty good, but uh, it's awfully rich." Junior replied.

"Oh, that? That's because of the local pigs that can be found around here. We don't use 'em for their meat, but their milk is _quite_ the delicacy." Ray explained.

Junior nodded and continued eating, soon growing to love his supper. He ended up eating about five bowls of it by the time the sun was completely down, and it wasn't long before the island's natives decided to wind down for the night.

"Alright, travelers!" Bark said as he stood up and stretched, "I'll go take a look at your plane now. Depending on the severity of the damage, I might be able to fix it up by sunrise, so you all can be on your way."

"Sounds good, Bark. Thanks!" Tyco replied with a loud yawn following soon after.

"Yeah, so you two had _better_ not goof off too much tonight. We need to get as much sleep as we can before we set off for the next emerald." Jade warned, lying down next to the campfire.

"Yo, Jade! Wanna bunk with _me_?" Junior asked, only to have a fistful of sand thrown at him.

He barely managed to avoid getting blinded by the attack, and lowered his hands to find Jade silently glaring at him.

"Fair enough. See you both in the morning." Junior sighed in defeat as he climbed up a nearby palm tree.

Finally reaching the top, the son of the Blue Blur proceeded to lie on his back in the center of the leaf crown, gifting himself with a view of the starry black skies above. He lay there silently for a spell, before he got an idea and pulled out his Miles Electric to try and contact his father, whom he hadn't spoken to since departing on this adventure.

"Hey, son! What's up?" Sonic asked upon accepting the call.

"Oh, nothing much." Junior replied, a sleepy but reassured smile on his face.

"I heard you guys managed to nab the first emerald! Great work!" Sonic continued, "You have _no idea_ how proud of you we all are!"

"Aww, thanks Dad." Junior replied, "And that's not _all_ we discovered in the Genesis Isles."

"Oh, really?" Sonic asked, "I mean, besides what Tails told me? Y'know, about the existence of multiple Eggmen, and the underwater temple?"

"Well if _that's_ all he told you about, then yeah." Junior began, "See, we also stumbled across your family - specifically your mother. And _she_ says she's hurt that you haven't visited her after all these years since you ran away from home."

"Wait... what?!" Sonic asked in shock.

"And she _also_ says that your father who you lost as a kid was actually your Uncle Chuck. Your father's basically been impersonating that uncle for decades and only _now_ decided to shed his disguise." Junior continued.

"What the actual fuck?!" Sonic asked again, a feeling of intense panic slowly creeping over him.

"Oh, and _this_ one's actually kinda' funny! See, according to your mother, your speed is actually a birth-defect caused by her drinking while she was pregnant with you!" Junior finished with a chuckle, "And she _also_ says that when you were a kid, you would always use it to case trouble!"

"Okay, that _last_ one's false! I didn't use it _only_ for that!" Sonic replied, experiencing a brief flashback of himself easily winning at basketball, soccer, American football, hockey, baseball, and cross country due to his immense speed, "But seriously, what's with the sudden info-dump, Junior?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just a bunch of interesting stuff I found out during my stay at the Genesis Isles." Junior replied snarkily, "Y'know, it _really_ makes me wonder: why didn't you ever _tell_ me these things?"

"Junior, I never intended to keep them all a secret _forever_. I just... I just figured I'd tell you when you were _older_ , that's all." Sonic explained, "... Though if I'm being honest, I had absolutely _no_ idea about the fake uncle thing, _or_ about my speed being a birth-defect."

"Dad, I'm fucking fifteen!" Junior said.

"You watch that mouth of yours, young man!" Sonic warned.

"No! I don't care! I'm fifteen years old, and I'm _more_ than old enough to know and understand these things!" Junior replied, "I'll bet it was probably the same reason why you were so hesitant to let us go on this adventure without you! _Wasn't_ it?!"

Sonic said nothing for a spell, too shocked to speak.

"Well?!" Junior continued, "Why do you insist on treating me like I'm ten years younger than I actually am?!"

"Junior, I... " Sonic began, "I... I'm just so worried that you might get yourself in trouble like I did all the time as a kid. And I didn't want to you think of your own father as some no-good delinquent."

Junior soon calmed down and let out a sigh.

"You know what, Dad? I get it. Alright? You just wanted to keep everything a secret from your own wife and son because you didn't want to hurt your pride, is that it?" He asked.

"No, Junior. It's... it's not like that... !" Sonic replied, only to get cut off.

"Save it, Dad! Just... leave me alone. Please." Junior replied.

"But... son!" Sonic said.

"Bye, Dad." Junior replied before immediately hanging up.

At that point, Sonic was left all alone in his master bedroom, with only his quietly snoring wife to keep him company. He let out a sigh as he placed the Miles Electric back in its charger on the nightstand, though this noise - however quiet it was - was enough to rouse her.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" Amy asked sleepily.

"Oh, nothing dear. I... just got off the phone with Junior. And he says that things are going fine on _his_ end, but he's mad at me because of how I've been keeping all these important things from him for his entire life." Sonic explained.

"And what were these things, exactly?" Amy asked, sitting up as well.

"Mostly stuff concerning my family and my background, which I've been neglecting to tell anyone. Hell, not even _Tails_ knows about my past beyond the day I met him on West Side Island." Sonic replied, "Apparently they came across my family on Christmas Island while they was searching for the first emerald, and they told him _everything_."

"Well honestly, I don't blame him for that." Amy replied.

"You don't?" Sonic asked.

"Not at all." Amy replied, "He's not a little kid anymore. I know it can be hard as a parent to let him do more things as he gets older, but you won't know whether or not he can do them unless you actually give him a chance."

"I suppose you're right." Sonic said, "Though _now_ the question is: how do I make peace with my son?"

"You know what this reminds me of? That time back in 2010 right after you trashed Eggman's interstellar amusement park." Amy explained, "You gave Tails a fist-bump with the _same hand_ that you had just wiped your nose with, and he was pissed off at you for _months_ afterwards."

"You weren't even _there_ for that." Sonic replied flatly, an unamused look on his face.

"Yeah, well he told all of us sometime after the fact." Amy replied, "But my point still stands. Did he stay mad at you _forever_ after you did that?"

Sonic shook his head no.

"Exactly! And that's most likely what's gonna happen in _this_ situation! You made an honest mistake, someone you know got mad over it, and now you need to just give them their space and let them cool down!" Amy explained, "Now as for how long that'll take, that's up to the person you upset."

"Yeah, I get it now." Sonic replied, "And once I get the chance, I'm gonna apologize to Junior as sincerely as I can! But for now, it's getting late. We should get some shut-eye."


	14. Chapter 14: We've Been Duped!

Chapter 14: We've Been Duped!

In a dark room located somewhere unknown, a mysterious figure was slowly pacing around, contemplating what his action would be. A screen monitor was to his left, showing footage of Junior, Jade, and Tyco cruising above the ocean in the Tornado-2.

"Hmm... should I? ... Or shouldn't I?" He grinned sadistically, a hand on his chin in thought, "Those DeviantArt rejects are proving to be quite the threat, and there's no telling what they'll do when they eventually make their way here. But on the other hand, they _could_ prove to be valuable, in that they could bring the Emeralds to me!"

The man thought for a moment.

"That's it! I'll send out my secret weapon in order to stall them - not kill them - thereby giving me more time to conquer the world. And once I accomplish that with relative ease, _then_ I'll kill them! Mwahahaha!" He finished.

The man then stepped over to the control panel in front of the monitor screen, extending his sport-coat-covered arms out in front of him and pressing various illuminated buttons before a loud hissing sound could be heard behind him. He looked back, watching as a snug compartment that was well lit on the inside opened up. A silhouette could be seen on the inside, curiously being similar in shape to Gemerl.

"Yes. Yes! Come forth, my creation! Go out there and stall those meddlers! And if you behave yourself, then..." The man let out a brief cackle as he pressed a large red button on his control panel, "...You'll get your well-deserved revenge!"

Following this, the silhouette in the compartment suddenly adopted a pair of glowing crimson eyes, being the brightest things in the room. The man continued to laugh even louder, echoing throughout the chamber the two beings were in.

Getting back to our heroes, it turned out that the inhabitants of the Isle of the Forgotten managed to keep up their end of the deal, and after saying their goodbyes, Junior and his team took off in their newly-repaired plane. They were already halfway to Spagonia by sunrise.

"Alrighty then. So are you two ready to nab our second Emerald?" Junior asked excitedly.

"Oh, I was _born_ ready!" Jade replied.

"Do you even have to ask?" Tyco asked in response.

"Well no, but I just _had_ to double-check." Junior said, "Heh, I wonder how long our _parents_ would take if _they_ were the ones going on this quest."

"Probably not as quickly as us. May I remind you that we managed to find our first emerald in three days, on our first try? Not to mention it was the one they said would be the toughest to find." Tyco replied.

"Yeah, good point. What _is_ there to be worried about?" Junior finished, leaning back and relaxing in his seat with a grin of comfort.

 ** _To (NOT) be continued..._**


End file.
